Fractionation of whey protein isolate with supercritical carbon dioxide-process modeling and cost estimation.

An economical and environmentally friendly whey protein fractionation process was developed using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO(2)) as an acid to produce enriched fractions of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) from a commercial whey protein isolate (WPI) containing 20% α-LA and 55% β-LG, through selective precipitation of α-LA. Pilot-scale experiments were performed around the optimal parameter range (T = 60 to 65 °C, P = 8 to 31 MPa, C = 5 to 15% (w/w) WPI) to quantify the recovery rates of the individual proteins and the compositions of both fractions as a function of processing conditions. Mass balances were calculated in a process flow-sheet to design a large-scale, semi-continuous process model using SuperproDesigner® software.

Economic analysis of fuel ethanol production from winter hulled barley by the EDGE (Enhanced Dry Grind Enzymatic) process.

A process and cost model was developed for fuel ethanol production from winter barley based on the EDGE (Enhanced Dry Grind Enzymatic) process. In this process, in addition to β-glucanases, which are added to reduce the viscosity of the mash, β-glucosidase is also added to completely hydrolyze the oligomers obtained during the hydrolysis of β-glucans to glucose. The model allows determination of capital costs, operating costs, and ethanol production cost for a plant producing 40 million gallons of denatured fuel ethanol annually.

A process model to estimate biodiesel production costs.

'Biodiesel' is the name given to a renewable diesel fuel that is produced from fats and oils. It consists of the simple alkyl esters of fatty acids, most typically the methyl esters. We have developed a computer model to estimate the capital and operating costs of a moderately-sized industrial biodiesel production facility.

Oxygen permeability of films made from CO2-precipitated casein and modified casein.

Oxygen permeabilities (OP) of CO(2)-casein (CO(2)CN), calcium caseinate (CaCN), and acylated casein (AcCN) films were determined as functions of % relative humidity (% RH), temperature, and plasticizer type. Tensile properties and water vapor permeabilities (WVP) were also measured. Plasticizers were glycerol (GLY) or a 3:1 ratio of GLY:poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), a hydrophobic plasticizer.

Green tea catechins decrease apolipoprotein B-100 secretion from HepG2 cells.

To understand the hypocholesterolemic activity of green tea, our in vitro studies screened the relative efficacy of two structurally distinct green tea catechins, epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), on apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB) and lipid production using a well established human hepatoma cell-line, HepG2, as the model system. This study showed that HepG2 cells pretreated with EC and EGCG for 8 h exerted a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on apoB secretion. Total protein and albumin synthesis and secretion were unaffected indicating the effects on apoB secretion to be specific.