Extraction of aroma compounds in a HFMC: Dynamic modelling and simulation

In the present work the dynamic behaviour of hollow-fiber membrane contactors (HFMCs) used for the recovery of aroma compounds from an aqueous feed phase with the help of a conventional solvent has been studied. Many aroma compounds play a significant role in the production of flavorants, which are used in the food industry to flavor, improve and increase the appeal of their products. Various aroma compounds with different physico-chemical characteristics have been chosen for this study. A real dynamic model of membrane-based solvent extraction (MBSE) process was developed. In the studied system, the aqueous feed and solvent phases are re-circulated to their respective storage tanks after contacting in a hollow fibres membrane contactor. The developed dynamic model was verified with experimental data from the literature and good level of agreement was found. It has been used as a tool to simulate and conclude about the influence of various module configurations, membrane characteristics and hydrodynamic conditions on the extraction of various aroma compounds. It was noted that transient models of membrane-based separation need attention to improve the simulation studies and experimental validity to encourage it at larger scales. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.