Assessing dealcoholization systems based on reverse osmosis

Several production processes have been proposed for reduced-alcohol beverages. In general, the processes require specialized equipment with an inherently higher production cost. Each process, however, has its advantages and disadvantages. A study about reverse osmosis is carried out in this paper. According to the results, the reverse osmosis is not economically feasible for the production of beverages with an alcohol percentage lower 0.45%. The original extract and carbohydrates are reduced lightly such that the beverage takes a rather worthy taste. Particularly, the original beverages with higher pH produce concentration polarization phenomena such that the fouling in the membrane is increased and the solute flux is reduced considerably. However the RO system can be improved whether compensation techniques are developed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.