Separation of ovalbumin from chicken egg white using two-stage ultrafiltration technique

With increasing demand of high quality proteins in different aspects of bio-pharmaceuticals, ultrafiltration (UF) techniques are emerging as an attractive route for separation of ovalbumin from chicken egg white (CEW). In this study, the feasibility of separation of ovalbumin from CEW was investigated using Amicon stirred cell fitted with polyether sulfone (PES) membrane. A two-stage ultrafiltration scheme employing 30 and 50 kDa flat disk PES membranes was used for accomplishing the desired separation. Prior to UF, centrifugation and dilution by 200 mM NaCl solution to required CEW concentration were carried out to prepare feed for ultrafiltration. The effects of trans-membrane pressure, stirrer speed, solution pH, feed dilution on permeate flux and rejection have been studied thoroughly. In this study, total protein concentration and individual protein concentrations were observed at each stage of separation along with the permeation rate. Results of the investigation showed that a high purity ovalbumin (98.7% dry basis) could be produced by the proposed separation train with operating trans membrane pressure (TMP) 4.5 kgf cm−2, stirring speed 200 rpm, pH 2.5 and CEW-solvent ratio 1:1.