Integrating selective precipitation of ▫$\alpha$▫-lactalbumin into a whey valorisation cascade

Prevc, Tjaša (author), Lokar, Blaž (author), Kete, Marko (author), Zabukovec, Polona (author), Bogovič Matijašić, Bojana (author), Zupančič Justin, Maja (author), Oberčkal, Jernej (author)

In the Balkans, and probably elsewhere, whey from small dairies, especially acid whey, still poses an environmental challenge. Despite recent advances in whey processing technology, whey is still largely treated as waste or ends up in biogas plants. Due to its high lactic acid content, acid whey cannot be concentrated by conventional drying or used directly in food. However, it contains several valuable components that can be converted into products with high added value. For this purpose, a valorisation cascade was developed, part of which is the extraction of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase from acid whey or sweet whey. The remaining whey was concentrated and used for the acidic precipitation of α-lactalbumin. In small-scale laboratory experiments, a purity of α-lactalbumin of 72.9 % and 24.8 % was achieved, when isolated from acid whey and sweet whey, respectively. The isolation procedure was then demonstrated on a pilot scale, using 70 L of acid whey, which yielded 220 g of wet isolate of α-lactalbumin with a purity of 78.1 % and a high lysine (11.1 %) and leucine (10.0 %) content. The remaining whey fraction could be used in various fermentation processes or other applications.

• Language: English
• Keywords: mlekarstvo, stranski proizvodi, sirotka, laktalbumin
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.10.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 231-239
• Numbering: Vol. 75, no. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173786
• UDC: 637.35
• ISSN on article: 0026-704X
• DOI: 10.15567/mljekarstvo.2025.0403
• COBISS.SI-ID: 248068099
• Publication date in RUL: 23.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Mljekarstvo : proizvodnja proučavanje i tehnologija mlijeka i mliječnih proizvoda
• Shortened title: Mljekarstvo
• Publisher: Hrvatsko mljekarsko društvo
• ISSN: 0026-704X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 85783

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Projects

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Project number: C3330-18-952002
• Name: LAKTIKA - Frakcioniranje in oplemenitenje sirotkinih proteinov ter izraba preostanka za oblikovanje novih funkcionalnih živil in prehranskih dopolnil
• Acronym: ESRR