The dairy industry annually produces large volumes of whey permeate – a residual flow that has little economic value. While the protein-rich part of whey finds its way into food or animal feed, the sugar-rich and mineral part often remains as a low-value waste product. Nevertheless, this liquid holds surprising potential for the biobased industry. The WheyNot project investigates whether whey permeate can be converted into sustainable raw materials for chemistry and agriculture – and thus given a new destination in the circular economy.
Whey is created during the production of cheese, curd and other dairy products. After separating proteins and fats, whey permeate remains: a watery liquid with residual sugars, salts and minerals. In many cases, this permeate ends up in animal feed as a cheap filler. Although this prevents it from being discharged as waste, it provides little added value – not for the producer, and not for the chain as a whole. That is exactly what WheyNot is focusing on: the project examines whether this residual flow can be upgraded into something economically and ecologically valuable.
Electrodialysis as a key technology
The central technique in the research is electrodialysis (ED), which removes dissolved salts and minerals from liquids. By filtering calcium, magnesium, phosphate, potassium and chloride from whey permeate, a purified base liquid is created. This can then serve as a biobased raw material in, for example, plasticizers, solvents or other chemicals. It is also being investigated whether the recovered minerals can be used as sustainable fertilizer.
Research in practice
Three parties are working together on this practice-oriented research: MNEXT coordinates and carries out the research. Looop Co-Products BV supplies the whey permeate that comes from the dairy industry. The required electrodialysis installation comes from Water Future BV, a company specialized in sustainable water technology.
The laboratory setup allows testing small amounts of whey permeate for purification efficiency, separation efficiency and application possibilities. The results provide insight into the technical and economic feasibility of a broader application.
Circular opportunities for chemistry and agriculture
If we succeed in extracting high-quality biobased raw materials from whey permeate, this will have consequences for multiple sectors. The dairy industry could valorise a residual flow instead of disposing of it, while at the same time contributing to lower CO₂ emissions. The chemical industry will gain access to renewable building blocks, and farmers could potentially benefit from sustainable fertilisers that are locally recovered.
The research is partly made possible by the KIEM GoChem programme, which supports SME-driven innovation at the intersection of chemistry and society.
More information can be found via MNEXT
