Pilot test on ultrafiltration of cane raw juice at the Indonesian plantation white Kedawoeng sugar factory

A purification test with cane raw juice from diffusion and a heating process was conducted using a polymeric ultrafiltration membrane, at the Indonesian plantation white Kedawoeng sugar factory. Raw juice was received directly from the main process line, and was tested at the site. The pilot unit was operated continuously through automatic control to study the performance and operating conditions of the membrane system. As a result of comparison with juice from conventional juice purification using milk of lime and sulfitation, the ultrafiltered juice had lower figures for color, turbidity and higher rates for removal of other nonsucroses, confirming that high clarity can be obtained. Based on the test results, the performance of ultrafiltration showing stable figures and operating conditions including less frequency of membrane cleaning etc. was established. The test result shows that the conventional juice purification method can be substituted with the ultrafiltration technology on an industrial scale.