Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: This paper comprehensively reviews whey, a by-product of cheese production, as a raw material for various biotechnological applications. It addresses its unique composition, the environmental impact of its inadequate disposal, and the opportunities it offers to develop high-value products in line with circular economy and sustainability principles. Using the PRISMA methodology, a systematic search was conducted in various databases (Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar) with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies from the last five years were considered, focusing on food applications, the production of bioproducts (such as lactic acid, biopolymers, bioethanol, biomass, and enzymes), and the use of whey as a culture medium for the expression of recombinant proteins. It is concluded that the use of whey in biotechnological applications mitigates the environmental impact associated with its disposal and represents an economic and sustainable alternative for the industrial production of bioproducts. The integration of pretreatment technologies, experimental designs, and improvements in producing strains brings these processes closer to competitive conditions in the industry, opening new perspectives for innovation in the fermentation sector.
Source: Fermentation
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,534
OpenAlex ID: W4409485162