Reverse osmosis of diluted skim milk: Comparison of results obtained from vibratory and rotating disk modules

This paper investigates the reduction of ionic concentration and carbon oxygen demand (COD) in dairy process waters modelled by one volume of skim milk diluted with two volumes of water using shear-enhanced reverse osmosis. Initial COD and conductivity were, respectively, 36,000 mg O2 L−1 and 2000 μS cm−1. We have compared the performances of a VSEP vibratory pilot and of a single rotating disk-stationary membrane module equipped with the same Desal AG membrane (Osmonics). Membrane shear rates were varied by changing the vibration frequency in the VSEP and the disk rotation speed or adding radial vanes in the other module. In all tests the permeate COD was reduced below 15 mg O2 L−1. Permeate fluxes reached a maximum of 180 L h−1 m−2 at a transmembrane pressure (TMP) of 4 MPa at initial concentration with the VSEP at its resonant frequency and with the disk equipped with 6 mm high vanes rotating at 2000 rpm. Permeate conductivity fell from 60 μS cm−1 at 1 MPa to about 18 μS cm−1 at 4 MPa. In concentration tests, corresponding permeate fluxes at the maximum volume reduction ratio reached (VRR = 8), were 55 L h−1 m−2 for the VSEP and 60 L h−1 m−2 for the rotating disk at a TMP of 4 MPa. Permeate conductivities increased exponentially with VRR from 18 to 210 μS cm−1 for the rotating disk and to 250 μS cm−1 for the VSEP. However the mean conductivity of collected permeate varied from 38 μS cm−1at highest shear rate to 60 at lower shear rates. This study shows that these filtration systems permit to obtain reusable water from this high initial COD model effluent with one single reverse osmosis step.