Influence of high shear rate on particles size, rheological behavior and fouling propensity of fruit juices during crossflow microfiltration: Case of orange juice

This work aimed to characterize the impact of high shear rate generated by crossflow microfiltration on the particles size, the rheological behavior and the overall fouling propensity of fruit juices. To this end, two orange juices, with different characteristics, were circulated during a defined duration (until 120 min) under a high shear rate (22,270 s(-1)) in a side-stream membrane unit, without filtration. Results showed that this shearing condition was likely to induce significant changes concerning at the same time the particles size distribution (with a possible particles fractionation) and the rheological properties of the fruit juices (with a potential increase of energy of cohesion between the particles). The fouling propensity of the juices, estimated through lab scale filtration test, was also modified by the shear rate, showing that new foulant components could be released during the circulation in the filtration loop.