Obtaining sugar syrup from milk serum

The Swiss dairy industry needs to find new solutions for the economical and ecological use of by-products such as whey and ultrafiltration-permeates (UF-permeate). A possible key solution is the use of nanofiltration. Nanofiltration of hydrolysed whey or UF-permeate yields various sugar solutions.The Swiss Federal Research Station for Animal Production and Dairy Products (ALP) and the Swiss College of Agriculture (HESA) have examined the possibilities and methods for obtaining sugar syrup from whey. The new process can be divided into four steps: pre-concentration and partial demineralisation of whey, pasteurisation, enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose followed by separation and concentration of sugar syrup and salt solutions. Continuous lactose hydrolysis combined with ultrafiltration greatly reduces the cost of the expensive enzyme and improves the efficiency and economy of the process.