Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol hydrogel to improve quality of date Juice

Hydrogel products constitute a group of polymeric materials, the hydrophilic structure of which renders them capable of holding large amounts of water in their three-dimensional networks. Extensive employment of these products in a number of industrial and environmental areas of application is considered to be of prime importance. As expected, natural hydrogels were gradually replaced by synthetic types due to their higher water absorption capacity, long service life, and wide varieties of raw chemical resources. In this work as an industrial application of hydrogels, Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) as a famous hydrogel was used to improve date concentrate quality (increase clarity and color and decrease turbidity). The PVA 0.5 g L-1 was provided in water and mixed with 250 ml of date Juice samples. The Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were used to study the interaction between tree factors (PVA volume, the time and the temperature of interaction) and optimize factors that affect quality imrovement. Results showed that PVA has good capability to improve date Juice quality. The volume of PVA; 5 ml, time; 40 min and temperature; 34 °C were obtained as optimum conditions.