Beer dealcoholization by forward osmosis diafiltration

Abstract Membrane separation processes used for beer dealcoholization have as main advantage the operation at mild temperatures when compared to traditional thermal technologies. Such alternatives to thermal treatment preserve the organoleptic quality of the foods that are being processed. This work assesses the use of forward osmosis to dealcoholize a commercial beer containing 5 vol% of alcohol. In this process, water and ethanol are removed from the beer simultaneously, and diafiltration is used to rehydrate the beer, reducing its alcohol content. We assess this study by characterizing the chemical profile of the beer before and after the FO diafiltration process. It was possible to obtain a low alcohol beer containing 0.5 vol%, but physical-chemical properties were impaired. The turbidity and salinity increased by 44% and 70%, respectively, while color decreased 7%. We also noticed the loss of flavor compounds. Results indicate that forward osmosis can be an alternative to reduce the ethanol content of aqueous solutions such as beverages and fermentation broths.