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CHAPTER 15

WHEY
PROCESSING
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Whey, the liquid residue of cheese, casein and

yoghurt production, is one of the biggest reservoirs
of food protein available today. World whey output
at approximately 180 million tonnes in 2013
contains some 1.5 million tonnes of increasingly
high-value protein and 8.6 million tonnes of lactose,
a very important source of carbohydrate for the
world. The latest research shows that whey protein is
arguably the most nutritionally valuable protein
available; little wonder that nutritional markets such
as sports, clinical and infant nutrition are driving an
unprecedented investment level in dairy production.
Packed full of ‘natural goodies’ such as high-gelling
b-lactoglobulin, mother’s milk equivalent protein a-
lactalbumin, lactoferrin, and immunoglobulin and as
a pre-cursor to the probiotic
galactooligosaccharides (GOS), whey is proving to
be one of the most exciting nutrient sources
available today.

Whey comprises 80 – 90 % of the total volume of

milk entering the process and contains about 50 %
of the nutrients in the original milk: soluble protein,
lactose, vitamins and minerals.

Whey as a by-product from the manufacture of hard,

semi-hard or soft cheese and rennet casein is known
as sweet whey and has a pH of 5.9 – 6.6.
Manufacture of mineral-acid precipitated casein
yields acid whey with a pH of 4.3 – 4.6. Table 15.1
shows approximate composition figures for whey
from cheese and casein manufacture.

Table 15.1
Approximate composition of separated whey, %

Cheese whey HCI Acid Casein whey

Constituent % %

Total solids 6.0 6.4

Water 94 93.6

Fat 0.05 0.05

True protein 0.60 0.60

NPN (non-protein 0.20 0.20

nitrogen)

Lactose 4.5 4.6

Ash (minerals) 0.5 0.8

Calcium 0.035 0.12

Phosphorus 0.040 0.065

Sodium 0.045 0.050

Potassium 0.14 0.16

Chloride 0.09 0.11

Lactic acid 0.05 0.05

Whey is very often diluted with water. The figures

above relate to undiluted whey. As to the
composition of the NPN fraction, about 30 %
consists of urea. The rest is amino acids and
peptides (glycomacropeptide from renneting action
on casein). Table 15.2 lists some fields of application
for whey and whey products.
Advances in membrane filtration and
chromatography have underpinned economically
viable commercial processes for the fractionation of
whey into highly purified protein and lactose
products that allow end users to take advantage of
the various functional properties of individual whey
components. This is a trend that is expected to
continue as research uncovers new bioactive
properties and consumers become more educated
about the nutritional value of whey.

Table 15.2
Examples of utilization of whey and whey products

Whey product Whey

Liquid Natural Sweetened Demi

whey 40-50

Animal Feed X X X

Human
Consumption

Baby food

Diet food

Sports
nutrition

Clinical
nutrition

Sausages

Soups X X X

Bakery X X

Salad X
dressings

Ice cream

Whey spread/ X
cheese

Cheeses X

Beverages X

Confectionery X X X

Pharmaceutical

Yeast Products X

Industrial
Products

The block diagram in Figure 15.1 summarizes

various processes used in the treatment of whey and
its end products. The first stage is filtering the curd
particles left in the whey, followed by separation
of casein fines and fat (Figure 15.2), partly to
increase the economic yield and partly because
these constituents interfere with subsequent
treatment.
Production of whey powder, delactosed whey and
lactose has traditionally dominated processing of
whey solids. However, the increased demand for
whey proteins results in approximately 40 % of
processed whey solids being directed to associated
products WPC35-80, whey protein isolate (WPI),
lactose and permeate. The shift in the image of whey
from an unwanted by-product to a highly-valuable
nutritional source is complete. Some of the products
now in use are described in this chapter.

Fig. 15.1

Whey processing alternatives.

DIFFERENT WHEY
PROCESSES
Whey must be processed as soon as possible after it
is drawn from the cheese curd as its temperature
and composition promote the growth of bacteria
that lead to protein degradation and lactic acid
formation.

It is recommended that whey is drawn directly from

the cheese process into short duration buffer
storage then clarified, separated, pasteurized and
cooled into storage to await further processing. If
transporting the whey it can be concentrated by
membrane filtration to reduct transport costs.

CASEIN FINES
RECOVERY AND FAT
SEPARATION
Casein fines are always present in whey. They have
an adverse effect on fat separation and should
therefore be removed first. Various types of
separation devices can be utilized, such as cyclones,
centrifugal separators or vibrating/rotating screens,
Figure 15.2.

Fig. 15.2

Fines and fat separation from whey.

1. Whey collecting tank

2. Clarifier
3. Fines collecting tank
4. Whey cream separator
5. Whey pasteurizer
6. Whey cream tank
7. Whey for further treatment

FAT IS RECOVERED IN
CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATORS
The collected fines are often pressed in the same
way as cheese, after which they can be used in
processed cheese manufacture and, after a period
of ripening, also in cooking.

The whey cream, often with a fat content of 25 – 30

%, can partly be reused in cheese-making to
standardize the cheese milk; this enables the
corresponding quantity of fresh cream to be utilized
for special cream products. Normally, this works well
for short maturation cheeses such as mozzarella, but
note that the risk of rancid off flavours is heightened
as the maturation time is increased. It is important to
break the recycle loop to avoid the build-up of free
fatty acids and other undesirables that are not
trapped in the curd matrix. For cheddar production,
whey cream is generally not reused due to the
sensitivity of the starter to bacteriophages. In some
of these cases, whey cream is converted to whey
butter.

PASTEURIZATION AND
CHILLING
Whey that is to be stored before processing must be
either chilled or pasteurized and chilled as soon as
the fat and fines have been removed. For short-time
storage (< 8 hours), chilling to < 5 °C is usually
sufficient to reduce bacterial activity. Longer periods
of storage and utilization of the whey in high-quality
infant formula and sports nutrition applications
require pasteurization of the whey directly after the
removal of fat and fines; generally, this approach is
recommended in order to cater to the increasingly
strict demands on product quality.

CONCENTRATION OF
TOTAL SOLIDS
CONCENTRATION
The first step in whey concentration typically
involves increasing the dry matter from around 6 %
to 18 – 25 % using RO (reverse osmosis) or a
combination of RO-NF (nanofiltration). Then whey
can either be transported to another site for further
processing (e.g. evaporation and drying) or dried
directly on site.
With dry matter above 25-30 %, it is more
economical to use mechanical vapour
recompression (MVR) evaporation to concentrate
whey. Utilizing MVR in this second step to whey
concentration can increase dry matter from as low as
20 % to 45 – 65 %.
After evaporation, the concentrate is flash cooled
rapidly to 30 – 40 °C thus initiating nucleation of
lactose crystals before being further cooled and
stirred in specially-designed crystallization tanks.
The product is held in the crystallizers for 4 – 8 hours
to obtain a uniform distribution of small lactose
crystals, which will give a non-hygroscopic product
when spray-dried.
Concentrated whey is a supersaturated lactose
solution and, under certain temperature and
concentration conditions, the lactose can sometimes
crystallize spontaneously before the whey leaves the
evaporator. At concentrations above a dry matter
content of 65 %, the product can become so viscous
that it no longer flows. For more information on RO
and Evaporators see Chapter 6, Sections 6.4 and
6.5.

DRYING
Basically, whey is dried in the same way as milk, i.e.
in drum or spray dryers, see Chapter 17, Milk
powder.

The use of drum dryers involves a problem: it is

difficult to scrape the layer of dried whey from the
drum surface. A filler, such as wheat or rye bran, is
therefore mixed into the whey before drying, to
make the dried product easier to scrape off.

Spray drying of whey, is at present, the most widely

used method of drying. Before being dried, the
whey concentrate is usually treated as mentioned
above to form small lactose crystals, as this results in
a non-hygroscopic product which does not go
lumpy when it absorbs moisture.

Acid whey from cottage cheese and casein

production is difficult to dry due to its high lactic
acid content. It agglomerates and forms lumps in the
spray dryer. Drying can be facilitated by
neutralization and additives, such as skim milk and
cereal products. Increasingly it is preferred that lactic
acid is removed by a combination of nanofiltration
and electrodialysis improving flavour, nutritional
profile, drying and handling. Salt is also removed
and typically a demineralisation level of > 60%
corresponds to a level of acid reduction that is
acceptable.

FRACTIONATION OF
TOTAL SOLIDS
PROTEIN RECOVERY
Whey proteins were originally isolated through the
use of various precipitation techniques, but
nowadays membrane separation (fractionation) and
chromatographic processes are used in addition to
both precipitation and complexing techniques.
Fink and Kessler (1988) state that a maximum whey
protein denaturation rate of 90 % is possible for all
denaturable fractions. Proteose peptone, comprising
some 10 % of the fraction, is considered
undenaturable.
Whey proteins, as constituents of whey powders,
can easily be produced by careful drying of whey.
Isolation of whey proteins has therefore been
developed. The whey proteins obtained by
membrane separation or ion exchange possess
good functional properties, i.e. solubility, foaming,
emulsion formation and gelling, can be highly
nutritional and in the case of WPI produce a very
clear beverage enhancing it's healthy image.

PROTEIN RECOVERY BY UF
Protein concentrates have a very good amino acid
profile, with high proportions of available lysine and
cysteine.
Whey protein concentrates (WPC) are powders
made by drying the retentates from ultrafiltration of
whey. They are described in terms of their protein
content, (percentage protein in dry matter), ranging
from 35 % to 80 %. To make a 35 % protein product,
the liquid whey is concentrated about six-fold to an
approximate total dry solids content of 9 %.

Example: 100 kg of whey yields approximately 17

kg of retentate and 83 kg of permeate at close to six-
fold (5.88) concentration. Table 15.3 shows the
compositions of the feed (whey) and the resulting
retentate and permeate.
Percentage protein in dry matter according to the
values in Table 15.3:
In concentration, most of the true protein, typically >
99 %, is retained, together with almost 100 % of the
fat. The concentrations of lactose, NPN and ash are
generally the same in the retentate serum and
permeate as in the original whey, but a slight
retention of these components is reported.

Table 15.3
Composition of whey and resulting retentate and permeate

Component Weight in 100 kg Ordinary whey % Weight in 16.7 k

True 0.55 3.25

protein

Lactose 4.80 5.34

Ash 0.55 0.76

NPN* 0.18 0.24

Fat 0.03 0.18

Total DM 6.11 9.77

TPK** 35.72

* NPN =
Non-
protein
nitrogen

** TPK =
Total
Protein
Kjeldahl

The overall retention figures, however, depend very

much on:

The type of membrane

The flux
The character of the feed (pre-diluted with
water, pre-concentrated after demineralization,
etc.)

To obtain a more than 80 % protein concentrate, the

liquid whey is first concentrated 20- to 30-fold by
direct ultrafiltration to a solids content of
approximatively 25 %; this is regarded as the
maximum for economic operation. It is then
necessary to diafilter the concentrate to remove
more of the lactose and ash and raise the
concentration of protein relative to the total dry
matter. Diafiltration is a procedure in which water is
added to the feed as filtration proceeds, in order to
wash out low molecular components which will pass
through the membranes, basically lactose and
minerals.

Table 15.4
Composition in % of some whey protein concentrate
powders

Product 1 2 3 4

Protein in dry matter 35 50 65 80

Moisture 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8

Crude protein (Nx6.38) 36.2 52.1 63.0 81.0

True protein 29.7 40.9 59.4 75.0

Lactose 46.5 30.9 21.1 3.5

Fat 2.1 3.7 5.6 7.2

Ash 7.8 6.4 3.9 3.1

Lactic acid 2.8 2.6 2.2 1.2

Product specification:

1 Skim milk substitute, 35

% protein in dry matter

2 Protein supplement to
other foods, 50 % protein
in dry matter

3 Practical limit of protein

by ultrafiltration alone, 65
% protein in dry matter

4 Product of ultrafiltration
plus diafiltration, 80%
protein in dry matter

Table 15.4 shows the compositions of some typical

whey protein concentrate (WPC) powders.
A process line for the production of drier whey
protein concentrate using UF is shown in Figure
15.3. Up to 95 % of the whey is collected as
permeate and protein concentrations as high as 80-
85 % (calculated on the dry matter content) can be
obtained in the dried product. Typically, the
evaporator is not used for protein concentrations
above 60 % dry matter so as to minimize heat
damage to the proteins. Advances in high-
concentration nanofiltration allows these products to
be concentrated to > 35 % dry matter prior to
drying. For further details about UF, see Chapter 6.4,
Membrane filters.

Wheyandwheyretentate
Evaporatedretentate
Permeate
Condensate
Steam
Vapour

Fig. 15.3

Process for recovery of a dried protein concentrate using

UF.

1. UF unit
2. Buffer tank for UF permeate
3. Buffer tank for whey retentate
4. Evaporator
5. Spray Dryer
6. Bagging

WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE

Whey protein isolate (WPI) containing > 92 %
protein in dry matter is growing rapidly in
applications such as body-building supplements –
where the fat and other non-protein constituents are
undesirable as well as in egg white replacements for
whipped products such as meringues or as a
valuable ingredient in foods and acidic fruit
beverages.
Advances in microfiltration have drastically
improved the quality and economics of product
available, moving from a traditionally hot ceramic
filter process to a cold organic spiral wound process
in recent years.
Treatment of the whey retentate from a UF plant at
around 35 % protein in DM can reduce the fat
content of a whey protein powder from over 7% to
less than 0.4 %. Microfiltration also concentrates fat
globule membranes and most of the bacteria in the
MF retentate, which is collected and processed
separately; in some cases, this retentate is dried on
the same dryer as the WPI, resulting in a high fat
WPC powder. The defatted MF permeate is routed
to a second UF plant for concentration; this stage
also includes diafiltration.
As Figure 15.4 shows, the pre-treated whey is
pumped to a UF plant (2) where it is concentrated to
about 35 % protein in DM. The retentate is pumped
to the MF plant (3), while the permeate goes to a
collecting tank after RO concentration and cooling.
The retentate from MF treatment, which contains
most of the fat and bacteria, is collected separately,
and the defatted permeate is forwarded to further
ultrafiltration with diafiltration (4). The resulting WPI
retentate is then further concentrated using high
concentration NF (35-38 % DM) and spray-dried to
reduce the moisture content to a maximum of 4 %
before bagging.

Fig. 15.4

Process for defatting of whey protein retentate.

1. Pasteurizer
2. Separator
3. Holding tank
4. UF plant
5. MF for fat removal
6. UF and diafiltration

UF PERMEATE
UF permeate from the production of WPC and WPI
can be spray-dried or used for lactose production.
These are explained in more detail below.

WPI AND PERMEATE FROM SKIM MILK

The production of ‘ideal’ or ‘native’ whey products
from skim milk is of growing interest due to the
resulting products’ unique properties which arise
from the milk having not been subjected to the
action of rennet, starter cultures or acid.
Consequently, there is an absence of GMP
(glycomacropeptide), lactic acid levels above those
that are naturally occurring, degradation of proteins
by starter culture enzymes and risks from
bacteriophages.
As figure 15.5 shows, skim milk is first microfiltered
(1) to separate casein (MF retentate) from the MF
permeate containing whey proteins, lactose, NPN
and ash. The retentate, in liquid or powder form, can
be used in a variety of products where casein
fortification is beneficial; this includes cheese, dairy
desserts and beverages.
Ultrafiltration-diafiltration (2) is then utilized to
separate the whey proteins (UF retentate) from
lactose, ash and NPN (UF permeate) giving a protein
rich stream with > 90 % protein in dry matter. After
storage (3), the UF retentate can be further
concentrated to 36 – 37 % dry matter, preheated (5)
to attain specific functional properties and the dried
(6) to no greater than 4 % moisture.
The resulting permeate from UF (2) is concentrated
directly and then stored ready for further processing.
The type of membrane used to concentrate
permeate depends on whether it is being used to
standardize protein in milk powders, spray-dried as
permeate or used for lactose production. This is