Congratulations to Aderiyike, Nayeong, and Elijah on their recent publication exploring whey valorization using low-cost, fouling-resistant, commercially available nanofiltration (NF) membranes integrated into various configurations within a redox electrodialysis (redox-ED) system
Published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, this work develops NF-based redox-ED systems for cost-effective whey protein demineralization, enabling simultaneous salt removal and protein recovery. A comparative analysis of different redox-ED configurations identified the optimal setup as N–C–N with two NF membranes and a redox polymer electrolyte. This configuration minimizes protein fouling, enhances ion diffusion, and achieves up to 89% demineralization with over 95% protein retention. Overall, redox polymer-ED with an N–C–N configuration demonstrates a viable, stable, and sustainable approach for whey valorization.