On ultrafiltration (UF) of caramel color solution a part of imidazole compounds which are bound with high-molecular-weight coloring matters are retained in the concentrate. These bound imidazoles can be set free by addition of sulfuric acid and can be de-imidazoled by UF.
In this study, OF was done through hollow fiber modules No. IL-100, CL-100 and CL-500 manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo Co. and following results are obtained.
1. The rejection of imidazoles were almost independent of caramel color concentration and operating conditions (recycle rate, pressure and temperature).
2. The rejection of color intensity was not affected by temperature, it decreased with the caramel color concentration and pressure but increased with the recycle rate.
3. Ninety nine percent of total imidazoles could be eliminated from the caramel color solution by observing these steps (a) elimination of permeable imidazoles by UF, (b) adjusting of pH to 2 with sulfuric acid (c) 1, 25 fold concentration UF or 5, 2 fold concentration UF.
4. Total loss of color intensity during complete de-imidazolization by 1, 25 fold concentration UF or 5, 2 fold concentration UF was 10.9% and 6.4% respectively, by using CL-500 module.
5. Ultrafiltered caramel color solution could successfully be concentrated by reverse osmosis without any mentionable color loss and its quality was also improved.
View full abstract