Effect of agitation on heat-induced deproteination process of buffalo milk whey

Abstract

The heat induced deprotienation of buffalo milk whey was carried out in a bench top continuous process after optimization of process parameters for maximum protein removal at lab scale. The optimum conditions for maximum heat induced aggregation were found to be 92 ± 2 °C, 30 min at a pH 5.3 ± 0.1 and in the presence of 10 mM CaCl 2. The CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactor) was then used as a tool to study the kinetics of heat induced denaturation at different agitation rates. The kinetics was also studied with batch system under similar conditions. The values of deproteination rate constants were in close agreement from both batch and continuous studies. The shear rate was found to have great effect on the protein denaturation kinetics as well as protein aggregate size distribution. The rate of deproteination was found to increase as the shear rate increased. The denaturation kinetics also changed from second order to first order as the shear was increased from 360 s −1 to 1020 s −1, in both batch as well as continuous process.