By-product recovery from cottage cheese production by nanofiltration

Cottage cheese whey has been a problem waste as it is dilute, salty and acidic. The use of nanofiltration has been applied to cottage cheese whey to concentrate its solids content four fold, while removing about three-quarters of the sodium and potassium salts and some acid. This desalted nanoconcentrated whey was found to be quite stable under refrigeration for up to 6 weeks. It could then be considered as a recovered by-product for use as an ingredient in dairy and other food products. A preliminary process economics case study was carried out for a plant producing 30,000 l/day of cottage cheese whey. The capital cost required was estimated as $700,000. The payback period was calculated to be less than 10 months.