In this study, concentration of carob fruit (Ceratonia siliqua L.) extract through osmotic membrane distillation was studied. First, carob fruit was extracted to 12 °Brix at mild temperatures and then this extract was used as the feed solution while 4M CaCl2 solution was used as the osmotic agent in the osmotic distillation system. Mass flow of water was provided using a hollow fiber membrane contactor containing polypropylene fibers. The concentration process was carried out at 25°C. Carob molasse at 63.7 °Brix was obtained at the end of the process. The average water flux through the membrane was found to be 347.8 g/m2h. The concentration of carob extract was also carried out by two different conventional methods including thermal evaporation and vacuum evaporation to compare the food quality properties of the final products. The quality of final products was evaluated in terms of physicochemical measurements, color, total sugar, HMF content, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and sensory values. The experiments indicated that the bioactive components were better preserved in the product produced by osmotic distillation. Furthermore, the content of color components resulting from heat treatment was less in this product. As a result, osmotic distillation has been successfully adapted to the production of carob molasse and has been evaluated as a good alternative method to the conventional thermal evaporation methods available in the food industry. ORCID NO: 0000-0001-5854-0622
Anahtar Kelimeler: Osmotic Distillation, Carob Molasse, Hollow Fiber Membrane, Antioxidant Activity, Evaporation
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