Clear Banana Juice Processing Line

Banana fruit is one kind of tropical fruit, most bananas are consumed as fresh fruit, but it is also one ideal fruit to proceed into all kinds of banana end products like banana puree, banana juice, banana wine and banana chips and banana powder. This article will introduce how to proceed fresh bananas into clear banana juice.

The clear banana juice processing line includes fresh banana ripen system, banana washing and checking system, banana peeling and milling system, banana juice enzymatic hydrolysis system, banana juice separating and ultra-filtration system, banana juice sterilizing and filling system.

As the pectin content in bananas reaches 1.1%-1.2%, and starch reaches 2%-4%, it is difficult to separate the pomace and juice during processing. At the same time, bananas also contain polyphenols, a large amount of sugar and a variety of amino acids, which is easy to browning in juice production, and lead to deepening the color of the product, affecting product quality. For the separation of pomace and juice issues, during the production process of banana juice, we use a double stage pulping machine to make banana puree firstly, then enzymatically reduce the viscosity of the product, and finally use a decanter to separate the pomace in banana juice easily. For the browning problem, we add vitamin C to protect the color after the banana is smashed to ensure product quality.

The single-strength clear banana juice is 12-14 Brix, white brown with clear juice. The end products can be filled into aseptic bags or bottles or pouches.

Clear banana juice concentrated: 70 Brix with PH value is 4.2-4.3. The end products can be filled into aseptic bag in drums.

The fresh bananas after washing, sorting and peeling, then we will mash the bananas, but there is one technical issue at this step, when the banana flesh exposes to the air, it is easy to oxidation, to avoid this, we will add vitamin C to protect the color of the mashed banana pulp. Then the mashed banana pulp will be heated by tube in tube or scraped surface heat exchanger to enhance the yield rate, and then the appropriate enzymes(Amylase or pectinase) can be added into mashed banana puree to reduce the viscosity. After that, the banana mash and juice can be separated easily in the decanter centrifuge. Immediately afterwards, the banana juice runs through an ultra-filtration system to remove the still colloids of the juice. Evaporation, sterilizing and filling are followed steps to complete the clear banana juice production.

In the process of mashing bananas, 0.4% citric acid and 0.1% VC are added to obtain banana puree that can maintain the original color of bananas for a long time.

We use enzymatic hydrolysis tank to process the banana juice. Pectinase or amylase can be added into tanks to increase the juice yield rate and clear the juice. To control the influence of different enzyme amounts, temperature and time on the clarification and yield of banana juice enzymatic hydrolysis, amylase enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain coarse filtrate, and pectinase enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain clarified filtrate. In general, when the pH value of banana juice is between 3-4, the enzymatic hydrolysis temperature is 55°C, the amount of pectinase added is 0.08%, and the time is controlled at 90 minutes, the banana juice yield and clarity can be improved.

The decanter centrifuge can separate the banana pomace and juice with great effect, After the milling and enzymatic hydrolysis process, the decanter with high performance can get 60% yield rate of banana juice.

The ultra-filtration system can remove pectin and starch from banana juice. The system includes a circulation tank, cleaning water tank, clear juice tank, ultrafiltration membrane element, centrifugal pump, pneumatic valve, pressure level sensor, electromagnetic flowmeter, electrical control cabinet, etc. As the core component of the ultrafiltration system, the membrane module uses imported ceramic membranes to filter banana juice. The whole filtration process is full automatic and controlled by PLC.

The tubular sterilizer is used for sterilizing banana juice, and the banana juice is a neutral drink, so if we want to fill aseptic bags or aseptic cartons, then UHT sterilizing process(130℃ for 2-4S) is needed. And for acid clear banana juice, the heat treatment temperature can be lower than 130℃.