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Apple Juice Production

Research · April 2015

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30006.60489

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 APPLE JUICE PORTFOLIO
By: Rafe Hagee, Brandi Benedict, Kristina Simpkins, Dalton Anderson, and Nicholas
Sink
April 7, 2015
 Problem Identification

The problem faced by the researchers was to create a system of apple juice extraction

that would eliminate excess starch and pectin, as they create a negative effect on the quality of

the apple juice. The system was required to fit in a 3x5 square foot area. It was also required

that the final production of the apple juice made use of the enzymes pectinase and amylase.

Pectinase was used to combat pectin, which is present in fruits to keep the cell walls firm,

therefore reducing waste and using more of the apple. The main goal of the prototype was to

produce the most apple juice per apple with a minimization of waste. To ensure the public

approves of the apple juice, color and taste were important factors in the production.

Constraints on the production of the system included time and money.

Enzymes work best in certain conditions called optimum conditions. The optimum

conditions for pectinase are a pH of 5.5 and between 45-55 degrees Celsius. Optimum

conditions for amylase are a pH of around 5-6 and a temperature of 50-55 degrees Celsius. It

was thought that the maximum yield would come from using pectinase along with amylase.

KNOWN UNKNOWN

PECTINASE WILL BE USED TO INCREASE HOW MUCH WILL PECTINASE INCREASE THE

PRODUCTION OF JUICE VOLUME OF JUICE RETRIEVED

OPTIMAL CONDITIONS OF BOTH PECTINASE HOW TO RECREATE THESE CONDITIONS IN

AND AMYLASE ORDER TO EXTRACT GREATEST YEILD

AMYLASE IS USED TO CLARIFY THE JUICE HOW TO FEED THE AMYLASE/PECTINASE

SOLUTION INTO THE SYSTEM

 Brainstorming

The researchers’ initial design consisted of a grinder, holding tank, plunger, and filters.

The grinder was to be made out of a half-inch diameter dowel rod with nails or screws driven

through it. The ground up apples would then have been put into a holding tank made out of a

plastic bucket along with the enzymes amylase and pectinase. After the enzymes had been

given time to work, the chopped up apples would have been moved to a bucket with a funnel

attached to the bottom. The funnel would have had a fine metal mesh at the entrance and exit

of the funnel. A plunger would have been used to press the juice out of the ground up apples

and through the mesh. A picture of this design and the initial drawing of this design are shown

following.

The final design consisted of a grinder, plunger, holding tank, and filters. The grinder

consisted of a pvc pipe with screws driven through it and a handle that was designed to allow a

spade bit for a drill to fit into it so that it could be used to spin the grinder. The holding tank and

filters were combined. At the bottom of the bucket is a colander which covers the entrance to
the funnel that has fine mesh stretched across its entrance and exit. The amylase and pectinase

enzymes are added to the ground up apples in the holding tank. The plunger, which consisted

of the bottom of a bowl and a broomstick, is used to force juice out of the apple mash and

through the filter. A picture of this design is shown below.

Research

Apple juice is a part of many people’s diet and is enjoyed by millions of people around

the world. However, apple juice production is not perfect and there are a lot of apples that go

to waste during that process. There are some variances in apple juice production but each
method follows these general steps: sorting, extraction, enzyme treatment, filtration, and

pasteurization.

Apples are sorted to remove undesirable fruit that may be damaged or rotten and to

remove debris such as twigs or leaves. The fruit can be sorted using computers that detect

discoloration or other anomalies, human judgment, and flotation in water. After the apples

have been sorted to best remove any that are contaminated they are then cleansed using air

jets or jets of sterilized water. The remaining apples are then sent to be pulped (Crandall, Bates,

& Morris, 2001).

To break the apples down into pieces that can be treated with enzymes and pressed for

juice the fruits must go through a disintegrator, hammer mill, or grating mill (Somogyi, Barrett,

& Hui, 1996). A disintegrator breaks materials down into a uniform size by employing the use

of a screw and a drum containing rotating hammers (Rietz). A hammer mill operates on a

similar principle but does not utilize a screw to grind down the materials before their

introduction to the hammers (Hammer Mills). Finally, a grating mill breaks apples down by

grinding them down and crushing them between rollers. After the apples are milled they are

then treated with enzymes to maximize juice output.

One of the most commonly used enzymes in apple juice production is pectinase.

Pectinase breaks down pectin which is a substance that stabilizes the plant cell walls. The

addition of pectinase facilitates the further break down of plant cells in solution which increases

juice yield. Pectinase is produced by bacteria, such as yeast, and by fungi. This pectinase can be

extracted from these microorganisms and used to treat fruit juices (Mathur, Kushwaha, Singh,
& Katiyar, 2014). Hui writes that a “Typical ‘3X’ enzyme dosage is about 100 mL/4000 L of raw

juice.” Hui also notes that this dosage varies between manufacturers (Hui, 2006). Another

enzyme, amylase, is used in juice clarification. Amylase clarifies juice by breaking down starches

that are suspended within the juice. These starches can cause a variety of undesirable effects

such as cloudiness, gelling, slow filtration, and a dark brown coloration (Dey & Banerjee, 2014).

Amylase comes from plants, animals, and microbes; however, commercial amylase is generally

provided by microorganisms (Divakaran, Chandran, & Chandran, 2011). After the juice has

been treated with these enzymes it is ready to be filtered.

Apple juice is further clarified by using filtration membranes, fining, and heat

clarification. A filtration membrane is a sheet of material that allows juice to flow through it but

stops the passage of large particles, certain proteins, and microorganisms (Zimmer, 2007).

Fining is a process that utilizes bentonnesite clay particles that capture and hold tannins and

protein-tannin complexes. Heat clarification operates on the concept that heated particles

within the apple juice solution will congeal and will be more easily removed through filtration

(Crandall, Bates, & Morris, 2001). The juice must then be pasteurized to meet the FDA’s

regulations. Pasteurization is defined as a “partial sterilization of a substance and especially a

liquid (as milk) at a temperature and for a period of exposure that destroys objectionable

organisms without major chemical alteration of the substance” (Encyclopædia Britannica). The

FDA suggests heating the juice up to 160 ˚F for six seconds, 165 ˚F for 2.8 seconds, 170 ˚F for 1.3

seconds, 175 ˚F for 0.6 seconds, or 180 ˚F for 0.3 seconds. This is to prevent the survival of

Cryptosporidium parvum​ which is a parasite and ​E-coli​ which is a bacterium (FDA, 2010).
 The production of apple juice is an aspect of Bioprocessing, which is the manufacturing

or development of a product using a biological process (NC State University). The biological

process that is utilized in the manufacture of apple juice is the interaction between the

starches, sugars, and pectin with the enzymes amylase and pectinase.

Method

The apple juicer was constructed using pvc pipe, mixing bowls, funnels, a colander, fine

metal mesh, a trash can, a broom stick, screws, wooden boards, caulk, sealant, and duct tape.

The first part of the juicer that was constructed was the filter. To build this the researchers cut

the bottom out of a small round trash can using a jig saw and put a handle-less colander upside

down in the bottom of the trash can. The colander was the attached to the trash can using

sealant and duct tape. The sealant was given time to dry and during this time the grinder part

of the juicer was constructed. The grinder was constructed by making a wooden box without a

top or bottom and then putting a pvc pipe through the center of the ends of the boxes with the

smallest width. The pvc pipe then had screws screwed into it in a corkscrew pattern; these

screws were secured using heavy staples that were stapled into the pipe using a staple gun.

Pictures of the grinder are shown below.

After the grinder was constructed and the first part of the filter had dried, a funnel and a small

mixing bowl with the bottom cut out were attached below the colander. The funnel had two

layers of fine metal mesh at its entrance. The bowl, funnel, and mesh were all attached using

sealant, caulk, and duct tape. Photos of the final product are shown below.

After the caulk and sealant had dried water was run through the filter to test for leaks.

Minor leaks were observed, but were considered to be of little concern because the amount of

water flowing through the funnel was much greater than the amount of apple juice would have

been. To press the juice out of the ground up apples a plunger was made using a broomstick

attached with copper wire and duct tape to the curved bottom of a mixing bowl. The plunger is

shown following.
 The enzymes amylase and pectinase were to be used in the production of the apple

juice. Pectinase was going to be used because of its ability to break down pectin which holds the plant

cell walls together and prevents proper filtration. Amylase was going to be used due to its ability to

break down starches which would give a clearer and easier to filter juice.

To test the final product and the apple juice that the results were to be tested against, litmus

paper, taste, color, and transparency were used. The apple juice produced and the pH test are

shown below.

Discussion and Conclusion

The group tested and sampled the three apple juices but unfortunately our design was

not able to yield any juice. This was due to the fact that our process and design ran into

problems and design flaws. Many of our materials could not handle the caliber of stress that we

need them to. Our process is not sufficient to other companies and in no way would be able to

yield more juice while cutting down on the amount of waste.

Reflection

If the project were to be completed again, we would make several changes. We would

change our design to be simpler with less steps. We would design a prototype that offers better

filtration and uses stronger materials. The design would flow better and allow for the possibility
to properly add the enzymes and to efficiently test the juice produced. The creation of

dangerous and potentially deadly parts would not occur.

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Works Cited

Crandall, P. G., Bates, R. P., & Morris, J. R. (2001). ​Principles and practices of small - and medium - scale
fruit juice processing​. (F. S. Department, Producer, & University of Florida) Retrieved April 6, 2015,
from FAO Corporate Document Depository .

Dey, T. B., & Banerjee, R. (2014, May 19). Application of decolourized and partially purified
polygalacturonase and α-amylase in apple juice clarification. ​Brazilian Journal of Microbiology​ , 97-104.

Divakaran, D., Chandran, A., & Chandran, P. (2011). Comparative study on production of α-Amylase
from Bacillus licheniformis strains. ​Brazilian Journal of Microbiology​ ​, 42​.

Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). ​Merriam-Webster​. Retrieved April 6, 2015

FDA. (2010). ​FDA Recommended Pasteurization Time/Temperatures.​ Penn State University .

Hammer Mills​. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2015, from Vecoplan LLC.

Hui, Y. H. (2006). ​Food Biochemistry & Food Processing.​ (W. K. Nip, L. M. Nollet, G. Paliyath, & B. K.
Simpson, Eds.) Ames: Blackwell Publishing.

Mathur, A., Kushwaha, A., Singh, A. K., & Katiyar, A. (2014). Isolation, purification and characterization of
alkaline pectinase from Bacillus subtilis isolated from soil. ​Pelagia Research Library​ ​, 5​ (6), 1-6.

NC State University. (n.d.). ​Career Services.​ Retrieved April 6, 2015, from Bioprocessing Science.

Rietz. (n.d.). ​Size Reduction : Angle Disintegrators​. Retrieved april 6, 2015, from bid-on-equipment.

Somogyi, L. P., Barrett, D. M., & Hui, Y. H. (1996). ​Processing Fruits: Science and Technology​ (Vol. 2).
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC.

Zimmer, E. (2007, May/June). MEMBRANE FILTRATION: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH JUICE PRE-
TREATMENT. ​Fruit Processing​ , 153-158.