Production and techno-economic opportunities of use of whey in industrial processes

Abstract

Whey represents the least utilized by-product in the Serbian food industry, although it is very nutritious and poorly used in nutrition. More than a half of nutrients present in milk are also present in whey, including proteins (around 20%), wherefore it is considered as the most valuable product in nutritive sense. The first part of the article covers the statistical results, which show the production of milk and whey (whey in different forms of sale (a product code)) that occurs during the production of cheese in Serbia (2014-2017) and they comprise the results of a realized production, supplies at the end of the year and the quantity of sales. In the second part of the article the authors compared the obtained results, which were shown during the technological-economic profitability testing of the production plants: lactose and the whey protein concentrate, a functional drink based on whey and carrot during the production of cheese, as well as the whey protein bioactive hydrolyzes described in two scenarios, A and B, which have given a positive result in industrial production. There are numerous applicable techniques for the assessment of an economic profitability. The Super Pro Designer simulation software was used in this article for the results obtained. It is equipped with a wide spectrum of processes and is a powerful tool that can be used for the mathematical assessment of economic parameters.