Patent ID: 7169428

Claim:
A stepwise method for separating milk components comprising, passing milk into a filtration apparatus in a unidirectional flow; ultrafiltrating the milk in a first filtration step using an ultrafiltration means to produce a first liquid permeate and a first retentate, wherein the lactose content of the first permeate is no more than 5.5 wt %; nanofiltrating the first liquid permeate in a second filtration step using a nanofiltration means to produce a second liquid permeate and a second retentate, wherein the lactose content of the second permeate is no more than 0.15 wt %; reverse osmosis of the second liquid permeate in a third filtration step using a reverse osmosis means to produce a third liquid permeate and a third retentate, wherein the lactose content of the third retentate is no more than 0.06 wt %, and, wherein the first retentate, second retentate and third retentate are removed from the filtration apparatus through a first outlet, a second outlet and a third outlet respectively.