Sepralac Process - Sepragen

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The Sepralac Process

The development of the market for special constituents in milk offers some very interesting opportunities to the dairy industry and to the many different industries using such constituents in their formulated products.

These products are unique in their applications. It offers mankind new possibilities in the search for improved and better life style and for curing illnesses and health problems by using ingredients extracted from natural sources. The development of a patented process called Sepralac® has made it possible to isolate certain proteins from whey in a cost-effective manner, which is easily scalable to the requirements of the market.

A major producer in New Zealand is the first licensee and is already producing products. In Europe the first licensee is a major Irish ingredient producer.

Sepragen offers the technology to a limited number of producers and expects to have seven licensees around the world within the next couple of years.

Applications of Whey Based Ingredients

Ingredient	Attribute	Application
a -lactalbumin	Tryptophan content Essential amino acids Branched chain amino acids	Humanized baby food Nutritional products Sports drink formulations
Lactoferrin	Sequesters iron Antimicrobial agent in body Immunostimulating effect	Infant formula Nutritional bars Sports & performance products Medical products
Lactoperoxidase	Antibacterial agent in body	Shampoo Toothpaste Acne preparation
Glycomicropeptides	Body weight management Appetite suppressant Management of phenylketonuria	Sports performance products Medical products

The Process

The process for producing WPI, alpha-enriched WPI, beta-enriched WPI, lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase and glycomicropeptides is shown in the figure below:

In order to capture the proteins on the resin, the pH of the whey is adjusted to a low pH. This will give all the proteins a positive charge, which will bind it to the negatively charged SepraPrep-S resin.

The pretreated and pH-adjusted whey is loaded on the column after the column has been equilibrated. Then the column is washed with water and the proteins are eluted by means of patented 'Opposing Salt and pH' gradients.

The process fractions are processed in an ultra- and diafiltration plant, where the protein is concentrated to 25-27% total solids, while the permeate containing the buffer salt solution is processed in a reverse osmosis plant, concentrating it to 2-3% solids for re-use.

The protein concentrate is dried in a spray dyer, which can be of the tall-form type using an inlet air temperature of 180°C.

Sepralac® Process Economics

Assumptions: *Volume:* 250,000 liters of whey per day Whey type: Sweet cheese whey, pre-treated, past., normal comp. Processing time: 24 hours per day, 300 days a year
Products Permeate Whey Protein Isolate a –enriched WPI ß-enriched WPI Lactoferrin Lactoperoxidase	Market Price US D/Kg 0.18 7.5 15 9 250 300
Annual Prod. (Kg) WPI a –enriched WPI ß-enriched WPI Lactoferrin Lactoperoxidase Permeate Annual Prod. (USD) WPI a–enriched WPI ß-enriched WPI Lactoferrin Lactoperoxidase Total Permeate*	Case 1 364,500 4,110,000 Case 1 2,773,750 *2,773,750* 739,800	Case 2 362,800 1,200 500 4,110,000 Case 2 2,721,000 300,000 150,000 *3,171,000* 739,800	Case 3 145,120 217,680 1,200 500 4,110,000 Case 3 2,176,800 1,959,120 300,000 150,000 *4,585,920* 739,800
Investment 3* 500 L RFC columns Tanks, pumps, piping Automation and valves Membrane systems *Total* Annual Prod. Costs Depreciation Resin costs Membrane system OP costs Chemicals Water Energy Waste treatment Cost of whey (.5 c/L) Labor Drying costs Total	USD 675,000 200,000 350,000 300,000 *1,525,000* USD 190,625 150,000 80,000 120,000 30,000 110,000 25,000 375,000 288,000 91,125 1,469,750
Annual Gross Margin, USD Revenue Production costs Gross margin	Case 1 Process A 2,773,750 1,469,750 1,264,000	Case 2 Process B 3,171,000 1,690,210 1,480,790	Case 3 Process C 4,585,920 1,763,700 2,822,220