Separation Process for Sustainable Utilization of Bioresources
A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Separation Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 295
Special Issue Editor
Interests: chemical engineering; separation process; reaction engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In light of the current global situation, the effective utilization of resources, especially biological resources (bioresources) and biomass, has become an extremely important social issue. In addition, the United Nations has formulated the SDGs, which are goals for achieving global sustainability.
In this Special Issue, we invite papers on recent advances and achievements in the recovery of bioresources using various separation technologies.
With a focus on the separation processes for different types of biomass, papers on unutilized and low-utilized biomass and newly developed separation processes for biomass separation are especially encouraged.
Dr. Hideo Maruyama
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- biomass
- bioresource utilization
- sustainability
- separation
- separation engineering
- chemical engineering
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Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Development of isotonic sports drinks with non-calorie sweeteners and low-glycemic index from cow’s crude whey using a membrane filtration cascade and comparison with a commercial product
Authors: Maya-Serna, V.1; Guadarrama-Mendoza, P.C.1, González-Terreros, E.2; Guzmán-Pantoja L.E.3; Villalobos-Delgado, L.H1; Ochoa-Velasco, C.E.4; Valadez-Blanco, R1.
Affiliation: 1 Instituto de Agroindustrias, Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca, Av. Doctor Modesto Seara Vázquez No. 1, Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca 69004, México
2 Universidad de la Sierra Juárez, Avenida Universidad S/N, Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca 68725, Mexico
3 Independent researcher
4 Departamento de Bioquímica-Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla 72420, Mexico
Abstract: Whey, the principal by-product of the dairy industry, is rich in minerals, lactose, and soluble proteins. This study employed membrane technologies – microfiltration (0.45 µm), ultrafiltration (10 kDa), and reverse osmosis (RO, 99% NaCl rejection) – to obtain a mineral-sugar concentrate from whey. Minerals in the RO retentate were analyzed using ICP-OES. The mineral-sugar concentrate was used to develop three isotonic sports drinks with different carbohydrate-sweetener sources: SD1, standard sugar sweeteners (glucose, fructose and sucrose); SD2, maltodextrin (a low glycemic index carbohydrate) and fructose; and SD3, maltodextrin and non-caloric sweetener. Sensory analysis compared these formulations with a commercial beverage. The RO process produced a virtually purified water permeate, while the retained fraction had a mineral salt concentration of 19.3 ± 0.2 g/L, achieving nearly 100% of membrane rejection. The RO retentate contained (g/L): K (4.9), Na (1.2), Mg (0.22), Ca (0.15), and 7.9% lactose. Isotonic beverages were formulated to meet recommended mineral concentrations (mg/100 mL): K (15) and Na (40). The sensory analysis revealed that SD1, standard sugar formulation, had a significantly higher acceptance (94%) than the commercial product (75%), while SD3, comprised by maltodextin and non-caloric sweeteners, showed a similar acceptance (69%). This study demonstrates the feasibility of producing well-accepted isotonic sports drinks with low-glycemic index and non-caloric sweeteners from whey by membrane technologies, contributing to the valorization of dairy industry by-products.
