Demineralization of cheese whey by electrodialysis and optimization of the process

Cheese whey is a high-volume by-product of the dairy industry. A 70% of its content is lactose also it is also rich in protein and mineral content. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values ​​are very high due to high organic component concentration. For this reason, direct discharge to receiving bodies is considered to be a harmful for the environment. In this thesis, demineralization of cheese whey was investigated by using UF + ED and NF + ED sequential applications. UF and NF membrane applications were performed by using SEPA CF-II (GE Osmonics) test system. Conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and pH measurements in feed, concentrate and permeate samples were performed during the experiments. Lactose analyzes and protein analyzes were done in the feed, concentrate, and permeate samples. The obtained permeates were fed to the EDR-10x4-0.8 ED systems containing Ralex membrane and Tokuyama TS-1-10 ED with Neosepta membrane. In the Mega EDR-10x4-0.8 ED system with UF-GM membrane permeate, electrilcal of 5,10 V and flow rate of 15 and 70 L/s were applied. The ion removal as a result of ED application was calculated.