1. Introduction
Fouling is the major drawback in membrane (micro-) filtration of milk and other protein/particle
containing solutions. The buildup of a deposit layer not only reduces the permeate throughput due to an
additional filtration resistance, but also alters the separation characteristics of the system. Often the
deposit layer can be considered as a secondary membrane, which dominates the fractionation process.
Therefore, an understanding of the deposit layer structure - filtration performance relationship is a key
factor in the optimization of membrane fractionation processes. The decisive properties of the deposit
layer concerning filtration resistance and particle retention are layer thickness, porosity and
compressibility. Apart from the hydrodynamic conditions in the membrane channel, colloidal substratemembrane
and protein-protein interactions determine the formation and the properties of a deposit layer.
For filtrations of model colloids such as latex spheres mathematical models were developed. The
models describe deposit layer thickness and porosity as a function of the drag force of the filtrate flow
compressing the filter cake and particle interaction forces. These forces can either be attractive or
repulsive depending on the nature of the particles and the environmental conditions [1]. For complex
protein solutions, such as milk, the modelling of the deposit layer properties is limited by an incomplete
understanding of the colloidal interactions between the deposited proteins.
Milk consists of various protein fractions: casein micelles (d50,3 = 180 nm, isoelectric point: pH 4.6)
and several whey proteins with different molecular weights (d = 2-6 nm, isoelectric point: pH ~ 5). In an
earlier work regarding the pH dependency of milk microfiltration flux during cross-flow filtration [2] we
showed that casein micelle interaction in the pH range, where constant micelle sizes are observed
(pH 5.9 - 6.8), can be described by a model which incorporates Van der Waals and electrostatic
interactions as well as hydrophilic and hydrophobic Lewis Acid Base interactions. In addition to
decreased electrostatic repulsion an acidification of milk from pH 6.8 to 5.9 leads to a strong reduction of
hydrophilic repulsion between casein micelles while the micelle size remains the same [2]. Less repulsion
between casein micelles in turn results in a flux drop. A basic problem in cross-flow filtration is that
changes in colloidal interaction e.g. by varying the pH inevitably lead to simultaneous changes in the
deposit layer porosity and the deposition probability and, thus, to a different layer composition. Therefore,
from cross-flow experiments direct conclusions towards the impact of colloidal interactions on deposit
layer porosity and compressibility cannot be drawn.
The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the impact of colloidal interactions between casein
micelles on the deposit layer compressibility, porosity and specific resistance under dead-end filtration
conditions were the layer composition is kept constant. The findings from these dead-end filtrations under
experimental conditions were then applied to cross-flow microfiltrations of skim milk. Thus, an overall
insight into the deposit layer structure during cross-flow microfiltrations can be derived and used to better
understand the process for the fractionation of milk proteins.