Effect of Temperature, Added Calcium and pH on the Equilibrium of Caseins between Micellar State and Milk Serum.

Micellar casein and casein monomers in milk serum are in a dynamic equilibrium. At temperature below 15-20 °C a considerable amount of casein monomers, β-casein in particular, is released from the casein micelle into the aqueous serum phase. This study investigates the effects of added calcium and related variations of pH on this peculiar equilibrium in order to minimize the amount of caseins in the serum and to better understand the casein permeation during microfiltration.