Abstract
Cheese whey constitutes one of the most polluting by-products of the food industry, due to its high organic load. Thus, in order to mitigate the environmental concerns, a large number of valorization approaches have been reported; mainly targeting the recovery of whey proteins and whey lactose from cheese whey for further exploitation as renewable resources. Most studies are predominantly focused on the separate implementation, either of whey protein or lactose, to configure processes that will formulate value-added products. Likewise, approaches for cheese whey valorization, so far, do not exploit the full potential of cheese whey, particularly with respect to food applications. Nonetheless, within the concept of integrated biorefinery design and the transition to circular economy, it is imperative to develop consolidated bioprocesses that will foster a holistic exploitation of cheese whey. Therefore, the aim of this article is to elaborate on the recent advances regarding the conversion of whey to high value-added products, focusing on food applications. Moreover, novel integrated biorefining concepts are proposed, to inaugurate the complete exploitation of cheese whey to formulate novel products with diversified end applications. Within the context of circular economy, it is envisaged that high value-added products will be reintroduced in the food supply chain, thereby enhancing sustainability and creating “zero waste” processes.
Highlights
Design of integrated biorefinery concepts endeavors a consolidated approach to valorize all possible waste and by-product streams under the concept of circular economy
Cheese whey constitutes a by-product of the dairy industry and refers to the liquid stream deriving from the transformation of milk into cheese, from the process of agglomeration of casein micelles
Since vinyl esters are expensive and result in unstable by-products, Enayati et al [65] replaced them with fatty acids, such as lauric acid and palmitic acid, which yielded high lactose ester synthesis
Summary
Design of integrated biorefinery concepts endeavors a consolidated approach to valorize all possible waste and by-product streams under the concept of circular economy. Scientific studies have demonstrated the nutritional and functional value of whey protein and have focused on developing a number of recovery methods via physicochemical processes [20,21,22]. Advanced technologies such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration have enhanced the exploitation of whey streams [5,23,24]. Biorefining processes that implement the valorization of lactose and whey protein towards the formulation of high value-added products through enzymatic, microbial, and chemical methods are proposed. It is anticipated that novel and functional foods with enhanced properties will be the target end-products, allowing the reintroduction in the food manufacturing sector, within the concept of transitioning to a closed-loop circular economy
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