Food manufacturers often hesitate to upcycle due to the significant financial investment required to repurpose what is traditionally viewed as waste, or simply due to a lack of knowledge on the possibilities.

It’s essential to find efficient, reliable, and cost-effective ways to extract as much protein as possible from these byproducts. The quality and functionality of the recovered protein is vital for creating specialized protein ingredients, which can significantly increase the value of these resources.

Investing in the long-term benefits of upcycling proteins is crucial for companies focused on sustainable food manufacturing. One approach to achieve this is by considering membrane filtration, which can ultimately increase return on investment (ROI) and provide economic advantages by reducing operating expenses (OPEX) due to decreased energy usage. Membranes are critical in eliminating unwanted components, such as anti-nutrient factors, off-flavor compounds, and non-protein macro constituents like fat, fiber, and sugars.

Membralox® ceramic membranes have been proven on a large scale to provide the most efficient protein transmission, separation, and extraction systems for producing high-value, safe, and functional upcycled protein ingredients. Pall’s Membralox® crossflow filtration systems are fully enclosed and automatized – meaning they are regularly cleaned and sanitized in place (with minimum manpower), thus operating at suitable temperatures to prevent any thermal denaturation of the product while maximizing separation performances. Their modular design allows any feed flow rate, generally at constant throughput, possibly in full continuous mode (24/7), and into sequencing batch processes. Membranes lifetime extends over years of continuous operation with consistent separation performances and capacity.