Autore: Vanessa 25 aprile 2025 Categoria: Applicazioni
1. Technological breakthrough: How PES membrane surpasses traditional sterilization technology
(1) Limitations of traditional pasteurization: a trade-off between nutrition and safety
Traditional pasteurization (heating at 72°C for 15 seconds) has long been the cornerstone of dairy safety and can effectively kill common pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria, ensuring the microbial safety of milk. However, this heat treatment method, while sterilizing, also causes irreversible damage to the bioactive components in milk:
Lactoferrin loss:
- Lactoferrin is an important whey protein with antibacterial and immunomodulatory functions, but has poor thermal stability.
- After pasteurization, its activity retention rate is usually less than 30%, which weakens the natural immune function of milk.
- Vitamin degradation: Vitamin B12 (vital to the nervous system) loses about 40% during heating. Vitamin C (antioxidant) is almost completely destroyed.
- Loss of enzyme activity: Lactoperoxidase (natural antibacterial agent) and alkaline phosphatase (milk freshness indicator) are inactivated at high temperatures.
- Taste and flavor changes: Heating may cause Maillard reaction, which makes milk have a slight “cooking taste” and affects the purity of flavor.
Comparison of the advantages of PES cold filtration
- Retain more than 90% of lactoferrin and maintain the natural immune properties of milk.
- Vitamin B12 only loses 10%, and the nutrition is more complete.
- No thermal denaturation, maintain the natural sweet taste of milk.
Although pasteurization ensures basic safety, PES membrane filtration technology can achieve higher standards of microbial control without heating, while retaining the natural nutritional value of milk to the greatest extent, representing the future trend of dairy sterilization technology.
(2) Nutrient retention: the “golden balance” of active protein
Key data comparison:
| Indicator | Pasteurized milk | PES membrane filtered milk |
| Lactoferrin retention rate | <30% | 85-90% |
| Vitamin B12 loss | 40% | 10% |
| Energy consumption (kWh/L) | 0.12 | 0.09 |
2. Industry application: Practical cases of European dairy giants
(1) Danone, France: Carbon-neutral dairy supply chain
Technical solution: As a leading company in the European dairy industry, Danone Group of France was the first to adopt the bio-based PES membrane filtration system developed by Solvay at its Normandy production base. This innovative material replaces traditional petroleum-based polymers with 30% renewable plant raw materials, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the entire filtration process by 35%. To further improve sustainability performance, the plant also integrated a rooftop photovoltaic power generation system to power the membrane filtration section, successfully achieving zero-carbon emission operations in this key production link.
Market feedback: This technological innovation is most directly reflected in Danone’s flagship product “Activia” series of yogurt. The survival rate of probiotics in raw milk gently filtered by PES membrane is 50% higher than that of traditional processes, while the shelf life of the product is extended by 15%. The repurchase rate of the core consumer group has increased significantly by 18%. Market research shows that 68% of French consumers are willing to pay a 10% premium for this “low-carbon + high-nutrition” innovative product.
(2) FrieslandCampina: “Ultra-clean fresh milk” directly supplied from farms
Microfiltration station model: Dutch dairy giant FrieslandCampina innovatively moved PES membrane technology to the raw material collection stage and established distributed microfiltration stations in 200 member farms in Friesland. These compact devices developed by the University of Twente can perform 0.2μm precision filtration immediately after raw milk is collected, reducing microbial indicators from the initial 10⁵ CFU/mL to 10² CFU/mL, reaching 10 times the cleanliness of the EU Grade A raw milk standard.
Economic benefits: This “pre-treatment at the farm end” model brings multiple benefits: first, pre-filtration reduces the risk of raw milk spoilage in subsequent cold chain transportation by 90%, which can reduce the loss compensation by 6 million euros per year; second, the cleaner raw materials allow the pasteurization temperature of the central factory to be adjusted from 72°C to 68°C, further retaining nutrients while saving 12% of energy consumption; most importantly, this technology helps FrieslandCampina’s “Pure Pasture” brand win 30% of the shelf share in Germany’s high-end organic supermarkets.
PES membrane is reshaping the European dairy industry with “precision filtration” – it is not only an innovative tool for microbial control, but also the key to balancing nutrition, taste and sustainable development. With the deepening of the EU’s “Farm to Fork” strategy, PES technology may define the next generation of dairy safety standards. Enterprises need to solve the “transparency anxiety” in technology promotion, so that consumers can truly understand that “safety” does not mean “high temperature”, but “precise control of every micron”.