Sensory quality of drinking water produced by reverse osmosis membrane filtration followed by remineralisation

Monique H. Vingerhoeds*, Mariska A. Nijenhuis-de Vries, Nienke Ruepert, Harmen van der Laan, Wender Bredie, Stefanie Kremer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Membrane filtration of ground, surface, or sea water by reverse osmosis results in permeate, which is almost free from minerals. Minerals may be added afterwards, not only to comply with (legal) standards and to enhance chemical stability, but also to improve the taste of drinking water made from permeate. Both the nature and the concentrations of added minerals affect the taste of the water and in turn its acceptance by consumers. The aim of this study was to examine differences in taste between various remineralised drinking waters.Samples selected varied in mineral composition, i.e. tap water, permeate, and permeate with added minerals (40 or 120 mg Ca/L, added as CaCO3, and 4 or 24 mg Mg/L added as MgCl2), as well as commercially available bottled drinking waters, to span a relevant product space in which the remineralised samples could be compared. All samples were analysed with respect to their physical-chemical properties. Sensory profiling was done by descriptive analysis using a trained panel.Significant attributes included taste intensity, the tastes bitter, sweet, salt, metal, fresh and dry mouthfeel, bitter and metal aftertaste, and rough afterfeel. Total dissolved solids (TDS) was a major determinant of the taste perception of water. In general, lowering mineral content in drinking water in the range examined (from

Original languageEnglish
JournalWater Research
Volume94
Pages (from-to)42-51
Number of pages10
ISSN0043-1354
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Drinking water
  • Mineral composition
  • Post-treatment RO permeate
  • Remineralisation
  • Sensory analysis
  • Taste perception

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