Using tangential microfiltration to produce a beverage from asaí (Euterpe precatoria)

Asaí (Euterpe precatoria) is an Amazonian palm fruit that has been labeled a super fruit due to its nutritional composition and high content of antioxidant compounds. Its international demand has grown due to new processing methods. In the beverage industry, membrane separation is a modern technology that facilitates the production of clarified fruit juices with nutritional and organoleptic quality. The present study worked on the development of a clarified asaí beverage using tangential microfiltration. A 0.005 m² and 100 kDa Pellicon XL semi-permeable membrane was used, connected to a tangential filtration flow system. Permeability and continuity tests were used to ensure the performance of the membrane. At different but constant transmembranic pressures, a decrease in the volumetric flow when clogging increased was detected. Furthermore, the resulting total flow values were dependent on the initial pressure. The anthocyanin content varied but in general reduced initial color saturation values.