Protein removal from tamarind kernel powder using rotating filter and concentration/diafiltration technique

摘要

Tamarind Kernel Powder obtained from the endosperm of seeds of the tamarind tree is a seed gum with potential industrial application. The composition of tamarind kernel powder (TKP) usually composes of 60-70% of non-fibre carbohydrate (polysaccharide), 15-20% of protein and 4-8% of fat, fibre and moisture. Polysaccharide from Tamarind Kernel Powder (TKP) or Jellose is the useful material for a thickening, stabilizing and emulsifying in food and pharmaceutical industry. To separate polysaccharide and protein particles, filtration separation is considered to be one of the most promising unit operations. But there is fouling problem caused by the formation of a cake which will effect on the filtration flux. Taylor vortices, which are induced by the rotation of a cylindrical filter, have been reported to be effective in minimizing fouling. So, the aim of this work is to use concentration and diafiltration technique for protein removal from TKP by using rotating filter. Protein removal from the tamarind kernel powder suspension was studied by consecutively applying the concentration and diafiltration techniques. The experimental results were shown that at the same of 5 diafiltration volumes, as concentration factor were increased (1.11, 1.25, and 1.43),the purity of produced polysaccharide (85.56, 81.14, and 78.81 %) and protein removal (90.32,87.59, and 85.08 %) decreased respectively. Moreover, at concentration factor of 1.25 gave the highest diafiltration flux. Therefore the suitable condition for protein removal using rotating filter was at 1.25 concentration factor and 5 diafiltration volumes. Then the suspension was heated at 85° C and centrifuged. After precipitated in 1.5 volumes of alcohol solution, the polysaccharide was then dried, and smashed. From 20.00 g of tamarind kernel powder, 5.33 g product consisting of 5.05 g polysaccharide and 0.10 g protein was obtained.Accordingly, the product yield, the purity of produced polysaccharide, the polysaccharide loss,and the protein removal were 26.62, 96.71, 62.06, and 97.47 %, respectively.