AINIA / Tangential filtration with membranes

Tangential filtration with membranes

Tangential filtration

Tangential filtration (or cross-flow filtration) with membranes is a separation technique in which the liquid flows parallel to the membrane surface, rather than perpendicular as in conventional filtration. This reduces solids build-up and enables continuous operation.

What market challenges does it address?

Tangential membrane filtration addresses the need to separate, concentrate, or purify fluids in a continuous and efficient way, reducing fouling and operational costs. This technology enables the treatment of complex liquids in the agri-food, biotechnology, chemical and water treatment sectors, delivering more sustainable and scalable processes.

Applications

Clarification processes for industrial streams such as juices, milk or brines by selectively removing suspended solids and colloids.

Separation and concentration of compounds such as proteins, cells or high-value biomolecules.

Recovery of functional fractions from whey for use in formulations or products.

Processing of effluents with high organic or ionic load, as well as in advanced biotechnological operations requiring high selectivity and process control.

Recovery of process water and/or wastewater streams through multiple high-efficiency membrane separation stages enables the production of water of suitable quality and supports its circular use within the system.

AINIA’s competitive advantages

These technologies enable purification, concentration and fractionation of liquid streams according to process requirements.

Toll manufacturing under sanitary registration

Toll manufacturing under sanitary registration for productions up to 200 L, suitable for pilot and pre-industrial batches.

Membrane selection and evaluation

Selection and evaluation of membranes, including adjustment of operating conditions (pressure, flow rate, temperature, membrane type, configuration…).

Prototype design and development

Design and development of prototypes based on membrane technologies, tailored to the specific needs of the process or product.

Membrane filtration and processing capabilities

Filtration capabilities covering a wide range of pore sizes, from microfiltration to reverse osmosis.
We work with ceramic and polymeric membranes in flat and spiral configurations of different sizes (1812 and 2540), allowing operation with volumes from 2 L to 200 L.
We can purify, concentrate or fractionate liquid streams.
We operate a facility certified under sanitary registration, enabling small-scale production while maintaining required hygiene and safety conditions.

If the membrane is intended for use in food-contact processes, it must comply with food contact materials (FCM) legislation, which requires:

assessment of material and substance safety
compliance with migration limits
design that minimises hazardous substances

Featured cases

European

MIXMATTERS

Focused on the separation of mixed waste, including a membrane-based stage for the concentration of sugars from liquid streams resulting from the process.

European

CHEERS

Focused on the development of bioprocesses across different platforms, using membrane processes for Downstream Processing (DSP) in a microbial platform, enabling the purification of caproic acid, which is later used as an ingredient in animal feed formulation.

BOILA

Based on obtaining oleosomes as a functional ingredient, the process includes a membrane filtration stage that concentrates oleosomes present in the liquid fraction resulting from extraction, improving ingredient purity and yield.

SUPREALEM

Based on obtaining plant proteins for the development of new functional ingredients, membranes have been used to study the concentration of plant proteins from streams generated in aquatic cultures.

NEOSUCCESS

Through a set of membrane treatments, it was possible to perform DSP in a biorefinery process to obtain high-purity succinic acid.

Private company projects

While safeguarding the confidentiality of the private companies we have worked with, success cases include studies on the valorisation of residual streams and the recovery of high-value compounds (polyphenols, plant proteins, nutrients, sugars, amino acids, betalains, among others) in sectors such as olive oil, dairy, meat and plant-based industries. Membrane technology has also been applied to the treatment of industrial effluents, both as pre-treatment steps and as polishing stages at the end of the process.

Application sectors

Olive oil

Dairy

Meat

Plant-based

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Daniel Rivera

Head of Physicochemical Processes

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