Néstor Gutiérrez-Méndez

By Yanira Ivonne Sánchez-García, Sukhvir Kaur Bhangu, Muthupandian Ashokkumar and Néstor Gutiérrez-Méndez

Whey is a by-product obtained from the cheese-making industry. This by-product is the primary source of high-value products such as whey protein concentrates and lactose. The partial removal of water from the whey is the first step in the recovery of lactose. Then, lactose in the concentrated whey is forced to crystallize through a cooling stage. This conventional process of crystallization is very slow up to 72 h accompanied by the generation of a mixture of lactose types (α, β, and amorphous) and low yield of lactose. These issues have been addressed through the seeding of lactose, the antisolvent crystallization, and more recently, by the crystallization of lactose assisted with low-frequency power ultrasound. Sonocrystallization is known to have a number of specific features that include the enhancement of the primary and secondary nucleation, as well as the development of smaller crystals with more uniform sizes and higher purity. Nowadays, there are a number of studies that provide relevant information on the effects of ultrasound on lactose crystallization, although some of these effects are still not fully understood. This book chapter discusses the current knowledge on lactose sonocrystallization and describes the basic principles of lactose crystallization and sonocrystallization.

Part of the book: Technological Approaches for Novel Applications in Dairy Processing

By Néstor Gutiérrez-Méndez

Part of the book: Lactose and Lactose Derivatives

By Hada María Guevara-Alvarado, Néstor Gutiérrez-Méndez, Esther Carrillo-Pérez, Einar Vargas-Bello-Pérez and José Carlos Rodríguez-Figueroa

Cheese whey (CW) is the yellow-green liquid main by-product from cheese manufacturing. Historically, it has been recognized as a major environmental pollutant. Nowadays, it represents a source of high-quality nutrients, such as lactose. Enzymatic bioprocesses, chemical synthetic reactions and microbial bioprocesses use lactose as substrate to obtain relevant derivatives such as lactitol, lactulose, lactosucrose, sialyllactose, kefiran and galacto-oligosaccharides. These lactose derivatives stimulate the growth of indigenous bifidobacteria and lactobacilli improving the intestinal motility, enhancing immunity and promoting the synthesis of vitamins. Also, they have versatile applications in pharmaceutical, biotechnological and food industries. Therefore, this book chapter shows the state of the art focusing on recent uses of CW lactose to produce value-added functional compounds and discusses new insights associated with their human health-promoting effects and well-being.

Part of the book: Lactose and Lactose Derivatives