Utilization of Modified Thin-Film Composite with Modified SiO2 Nanoparticles to Make Herbal Drink Concentrate

Abstract

Herbal drinks also often called jamu is a traditional Indonesian drink that is used to enhance body strength and cure ailments due to its high nutrient content However, despite the benefits of jamu it is mentioned that nowadays 56% of Indonesia’s population does not consume jamu anymore, as it is a hassle to prepare. To increase the convenience of consuming jamu a concentrate is made, however, the traditional method of concentration utilized heat which could degrade the antioxidant content. Therefore this research aims to utilize Thin Film Composite (TFC) modified with silica particles and Forward Osmosis (FO) to prevent the antioxidant degradation from the heat treatment when making concentrated jamu. The samples are APTES modified TFC membrane and Aspartic Acid modified membrane with both membranes having 4 concentrations (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.4%). The addition of APTES and aspartic acid to the membrane increases its performance especially the waterflux. The APTES modified membrane has a high water flux of 6.7 LMH and a relatively low RSF (0.1 nMH) while the Aspartic acid-modified membrane has a lower water flux of only 5.7 LMH and a higher RSF with 0.25 nMH. The antioxidant result shows that silica-modified TFC membranes are effective in making jamu concentrate as well as retaining the antioxidant content as it increases from 51.4% to 62%.