Electrochemical separation of organic acids and proteins for food and biomanufacturing

Abstract

Over the past decades, the rapid population growth coupled with increased awareness towards nutrition has driven the demand for organic acids (e.g., carboxylates) and proteins, through pharmaceutical and food products. Close to 50–70% of the overall production cost of organic acids and proteins comes from separation processes during manufacturing. Recently, electrochemically-mediated separations have gained significant attention as a sustainable solution for lowering chemical consumption and achieving process intensification. Here, we review progress in electrochemical processes for the recovery of organic acids and proteins, in food and biomanufacturing contexts. We highlight aspects of the electrochemical engineering of these systems, selection of electrode materials, and discuss the underlying separation mechanisms. We emphasize the need for understanding molecular level selectivity coupled with engineering design, for broadening the applicability of electrochemical platforms for selective bioproduct purification. On the long term, we envision electrochemical separations as a sustainable and competitive process for the recovery of value-added molecules in food and biomanufacturing.