Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are materials that absorb and retain water and aqueous solutions up to several hundred times their own weights within their structure, even under pressure. Reducing the time of dewatering by permeable membrane and superabsorbent polymers for the production of traditional concentrated yogurt was investigated. Yogurt samples were dewatered using vertical and wide bed permeable membranes with and without SAP. The effects of SAP and position of the bed on the amount of dry matter and soluble solid during reduction of moisture content were evaluated at different time intervals and continued for 180 mins. The results showed that using polymeric superabsorbent combined with a wide bed reduced the dewatering time by one third with respect to conventional methods. At a specific time interval, using superabsorbent with a wide bed increased the dewatering efficiency by approximately 68% compared to the conventional method, while dewatering using a wide bed without SAP increased dewatering efficiency only b y 10% compared to the usual vertical bed method. The dewatering process did not affect the soluble solid content of the tested yogurt. The results may be practically applicable to the industrial dewatering processes of many other foods.

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