Recovery of lactose and proteins from cheese whey with poly(ethylene)glycol/sulfate aqueous two-phase systems

Cheese whey is an environmental problem as an effluent, but also a source of valuable raw materials, namely proteins and lactose. In this work, Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS) were studied for the recovery of lactose, BSA, β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin, key components of cheese whey. ATPS forme...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: González Amado, Marlen, Tavares, Ana Paula Mora, Freire, Mara G., Soto Campos, Ana María, Rodríguez Figueiras, Óscar
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)
Repositorio:Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/44223
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44223
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Aqueous two-phase systems
Cheese whey
Bovine serum albumin
β-lactoglobulin
α-lactalbumin
Separation
Descripción
Sumario:Cheese whey is an environmental problem as an effluent, but also a source of valuable raw materials, namely proteins and lactose. In this work, Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS) were studied for the recovery of lactose, BSA, β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin, key components of cheese whey. ATPS formed by PEG (molecular weights: 200–8000 g.mol−1) with sodium or ammonium sulfate were investigated. Partitioning of the selected solutes was experimentally addressed in different ATPS and pH values. Partition behavior showed that ATPS formed by PEG1500/ammonium sulfate is able to separate lactose from proteins, while PEG300/sodium sulfate ATPS may be used for protein fractionation. These separation strategies were then tested with simulated and real cheese whey. Under optimized conditions, PEG 1500/ammonium sulfate ATPS allows efficient recovery of > 95% proteins (precipitate) and 80% of lactose (bottom phase), as confirmed for both simulated and real cheese whey. The results found indicate that the proposed polymer/salt ATPS can be used to design scalable and cost-effective separation strategies to apply in cheese whey and other related wastes.