Abstract
Acid whey from Greek-style yogurt (GSY) is prone to fouling during concentration by reverse osmosis (RO), a phenomenon credited to its high calcium concentration. In this work, we sought to optimize the demineralization of GSY acid whey through precipitation of Ca by addition of base (NaOH) and phosphate salts. The effects of pH (6–10), calcium-to-phosphorus (Ca/P) ratio (0.3–1.3), temperature (40–70 °C), and holding time (10–60 min) GSY whey decalcification were evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). Ca precipitation ranged from 62 to 97% and was significantly affected by pH and the Ca/P ratio. Optimal conditions for Ca removal were pH ≥ 9 and a Ca/P ratio of 0.55. Surprisingly, no improvement in RO flux was observed for GSY whey following decalcification.
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