Extraction of Cheese whey proteins (α-lactalbumin and β- lactoglobulin) from dairy effluents using environmentally benign aqueous biphasic system

During the cheese production, Whey is obtained as a byproduct which contains nutritional value added proteins viz., α-Lactalbumin, β-Lactoglobulin representing 80- 90% of the total volume of milk entering the process. Although several possibilities for cheese-whey exploitation have been assayed, approximately half of world cheese-whey production is not treated, but is discarded as effluent. It is necessary to develop an effective and environmentally benign aqueous two phase system (ATPS) for the recovery of value added cheese whey proteins. Recently ATPS have drawn more interest among the other separation processes, particularly in the field of biotechnology due to the mild conditions of the process, short processing time, and ease of scale-up. In order to design a two stage ATPS process the effect of system parameters such as pH, types and the concentrations of the phase forming components , temperature, etc., on partitioning of proteins were addressed a view to maximizing recovery. Some of the practical problems encountered in the application of aqueous two-phase systems for the recovery of Cheese whey proteins were also discussed.