Human Milk Microfiltration for Bacterial Removal
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing human milk products with reduced bacterial content, such as Bacillus cereus, either fail to effectively remove bacteria without damaging the milk's nutritional composition or suffer from inefficiencies like filter clogging and high costs due to the need for high-temperature pasteurization or filtration processes.
Innovation Solution
The method involves separating human milk into skim and cream fractions, adding a porous particulate filter aid to the skim milk, and then microfiltrating it through a series of filters with appropriate pore sizes to remove bacteria while preserving the milk's protein and fat content, thereby reducing bacterial contamination without the need for high-temperature pasteurization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-temperature pasteurization is used to inactivate spore-forming bacteria, then bacterial content is reduced, but the structure of fat and protein in human milk is adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal pasteurization process with a mechanical filtration system. A microfilter with pore sizes between 0.2-1.0 microns physically removes bacteria through size exclusion, eliminating the need for high-temperature treatment that damages milk components. The filter is operated at low temperatures to preserve the native structure of proteins and fats while achieving effective bacterial removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a microfilter made of porous material with specifically controlled pore sizes (0.2-1.0 microns). This porous structure allows milk components to pass through while trapping bacteria based on size differences. The porous filter medium enables mechanical separation without thermal damage, resolving the contradiction between bacterial reduction and composition preservation.
2Reliability
If conventional filtration is used to remove bacteria, then bacterial content is reduced, but the filter quickly becomes clogged and flow rate rapidly declines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary centrifugation to separate cream from skim milk before filtration. This pre-treatment removes a significant portion of bacteria and reduces the load on the microfilter, preventing rapid clogging. By performing this separation action in advance, the filtration process maintains higher flow rates for extended periods while still achieving effective bacterial removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different processing conditions to different portions of the milk. Skim milk is filtered through the microfilter with tight pore sizes to achieve high bacterial removal, while cream is handled separately or with different filtration parameters. This localized approach optimizes flow rate for each fraction, preventing overall system clogging while maintaining effectiveness.
3Reliability
If ultrafiltration membranes are used to filter bacteria, then bacteria are removed, but fat and milk protein are also retained, affecting product quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully selects and controls the pore size parameter of the microfilter, specifying a range of 0.2-1.0 microns. This parameter optimization allows the filter to distinguish between bacteria (smaller) and milk components like fat and protein (larger), achieving bacterial removal without significant loss of nutritional substances. The specific pore size parameter is critical to resolving this contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using membranes that retain everything larger than a certain size (like ultrafiltration), the patent inverts the approach by using a filter that specifically targets bacterial sizes while allowing larger milk components to pass. This inverted size-based selection achieves sterilization without the unwanted retention of fat and protein that plagues ultrafiltration methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in human milk products with significantly lower bacterial counts, including Bacillus cereus, while maintaining the nutritional integrity of the milk, and prevents filter clogging, making the process more efficient and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
microfiltration by passing the skim human milk through a series of microfilters having an average pore size sufficient to reduce the bacterial content of the milk flowing there through
Implementation Method 2
employing porous particulate filter aids such as diatomaceous earth... passing the milk through a series of microfilters having an average pore size sufficient to reduce the bacterial content
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for treating raw human milk to produce treated human milk having undetectable levels of bacteria. The milk is skimmed to produce skim human milk then subjected to microfiltration to yield a filtrate which has undetectable levels of bacteria, including Bacillus cereus. The resultant human milk can be further processed, used and/or sold.