Primary Clarification of Banana Juice Extract by Centrifugation and Microfiltration

Banana is a much appreciated tropical fruit due to its unique aroma, flavor, and also for its nutritional and energetic components. In this work, banana juice was extracted by pectinase treatment at room temperature. The resultant juice was clarified by two methods, namely, centrifugation and microfiltration. A comparative study was performed between these two primary clarification methods. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the parameters of centrifugation (speed and time) as well as microfiltration (transmembrane pressure and cross flow rate). The juice was characterized in terms of viscosity, clarity, alcohol insoluble solids (AIS), polyphenol, and protein content. Centrifuged juice contained high concentration of total polyphenol and protein. Juice obtained from microfiltration had lower viscosity, AIS, and higher clarity. Also, the energy consumption of the centrifuge is much higher than that of microfiltration.