Optimization of Sugarcane Bagasse for Whey Adsorption: A Sustainable Approach to Enhancing Nutrient-Rich Animal Feed
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54987/jemat.v13i2.1146Keywords:
Sugarcane Bagasse Adsorption, Whey Protein Recovery, Column Packing Method, Modified Dose Response (MDR) Model, Agro-Industrial Waste ValorizationAbstract
Waste agricultural biomass is often environmentally hazardous when released to the environment, and some residues are toxic to the surrounding ecosystems. These biomasses, when properly valorized, can be a sustainable source of green adsorbents. The ever-increasing need for nutrient-fortified animal feed has become a real challenge for the animal feed industry. In this study we focus on a method of improving the nutrient content of the agricultural waste biomass sugarcane bagasse through the adsorption of whey, a byproduct of the cheese industry. The potential of sugarcane bagasse and spent cheese whey as sustainable adsorbent and adsorbate, respectively, is explored. We first use a one-factor-at-a-time approach to maximize the adsorption capacity of sugarcane bagasse. The factors examined include bed height, pH, temperature, and whey concentration. RSM was successfully used to further improve the optimal conditions. A fixed-bed column packing method was utilized in the adsorption experiments. Parameters optimized include the effects of different bed heights (1 cm to 3 cm), pH levels (4 to 8), temperatures (20 °C to 30 °C), and whey concentrations (0.01% to 0.05%). The optimal conditions include a bed height of 3 cm, pH of 8.0, temperature of 25 °C, and whey concentration of 0.01%. These optimal conditions improve the nutrient content of the agro-industrial waste. The Modified Dose Response (MDR) Model was utilized to analyze the breakthrough curves of the design parameters, which include bed height, flow rate, and initial solute concentration. The results show that a 3 cm bed height yields a qm value of 79.487 mg/g, pH 8 gives a qm value of 82.797 mg/g, and a 0.05% whey concentration results in a qm value of 95.274 mg/g. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first, and it has the potential to contribute to a sustainable novel approach for whey supplementation in animal feed.
References
Makkar HPS. Review: Feed demand landscape and implications of food-not feed strategy for food security and climate change. Animal. 2018 Jan 1;12(8):1744–54.
Quintero-Herrera S, Zwolinski P, Evrard D, Cano-Gómez JJ, Rivas-García P. Turning food loss and waste into animal feed: A Mexican spatial inventory of potential generation of agro-industrial wastes for livestock feed. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2023 Oct 1;41:36–48.
Alimi N, Assani AS, Sanni Worogo H, Baco NM, Traoré IA. Livestock feed resources used as alternatives during feed shortages and their impact on the environment and ruminant performance in West Africa: a systematic review. Front Vet Sci [Internet]. 2024 May 24 [cited 2025 Dec 13];11. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1352235/full
Pikaar I, Matassa S, Bodirsky BL, Weindl I, Humpenöder F, Rabaey K, et al. Decoupling Livestock from Land Use through Industrial Feed Production Pathways. Environ Sci Technol. 2018 July 3;52(13):7351–9.
Shah AM, Zhang H, Shahid M, Ghazal H, Shah AR, Niaz M, et al. The Vital Roles of Agricultural Crop Residues and Agro-Industrial By-Products to Support Sustainable Livestock Productivity in Subtropical Regions. Animals [Internet]. 2025 Apr 21 [cited 2025 Dec 13];15(8). Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/8/1184
D’Alessandro AG, Dibenedetto RS, Skoufos I, Martemucci G, D’Alessandro AG, Dibenedetto RS, et al. Potential Use of Wheat Straw, Grape Pomace, Olive Mill Wastewater and Cheese Whey in Mixed Formulations for Silage Production. Agronomy [Internet]. 2023 Sept 5 [cited 2025 Dec 14];13(9). Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/9/2323
Prazeres AR, Carvalho F, Rivas J, Patanita M, Dôres J. Reuse of pretreated cheese whey wastewater for industrial tomato production (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Agricultural Water Management. 2014 July 1;140:87–95.
Kusuma HS, Permatasari D, Umar WK, Sharma SK. Sugarcane bagasse as an environmentally friendly composite material to face the sustainable development era. Biomass Conv Bioref. 2024 Nov 1;14(21):26693–706.
Khayat ME, Shukor MY. A Fixed-Bed Study on the Feedsorption of BSA Using PKC: Toward the Sustainable Agrisorption of Protein-rich Waste for Enhancing Low Nutritional-value Feed. Bioremediation Science and Technology Research (e-ISSN 2289-5892). 2023 Dec 31;11(2):1–9.
Almeida LNB, Pietrobelli S, Nascimento MS, Josué TG, Pietrobelli JMTA. Study of the biosorption equilibrium of the yellow dye reafix B2R by sugarcane bagasse. Chemical Engineering Transactions. 2019;74:1501–6.
Rout PR, Bhunia P, Dash RR. Evaluation of kinetic and statistical models for predicting breakthrough curves of phosphate removal using dolochar-packed columns. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 2017 June 1;17:168–80.
Yan G, Viraraghavan T, Chen M. A new model for heavy metal removal in a biosorption column. Adsorption Science and Technology. 2001;19(1):25–43.
Afroze S, Sen TK, Ang HM. Adsorption performance of continuous fixed bed column for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye using Eucalyptus sheathiana bark biomass. Res Chem Intermed. 2016 Mar 1;42(3):2343–64.
Blagojev N, Vasić V, Kukić D, Šćiban M, Prodanović J, Bera O. Modelling and efficiency evaluation of the continuous biosorption of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) from water by agricultural waste materials. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021 Mar 1;281:111876.
Chu KH. Improved fixed bed models for metal biosorption. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2004 Feb 15;97(2):233–9.
Qaiser S, Saleemi AR, Umar M. Biosorption of lead from aqueous solution by Ficus religiosa leaves: Batch and column study. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2009 July 30;166(2):998–1005.
Won SW, Kwak IS, Yun YS. The role of biomass in polyethylenimine-coated chitosan/bacterial biomass composite biosorbent fiber for removal of Ru from acetic acid waste solution. Bioresource Technology. 2014 May 1;160:93–7.
Yan G, Viraraghavan T. Heavy metal removal in a biosorption column by immobilized M. rouxii biomass. Bioresour Technol. 2001 July;78(3):243–9.
Saw HY, Janaun J, Subbarao D. Hydration properties of palm kernel cake. Journal of Food Engineering. 2008 Nov 1;89(2):227–31.
Babapoor A, Rafiei O, Mousavi Y, Azizi MM, Paar M, Nuri A. Comparison and Optimization of Operational Parameters in Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Low-Cost Adsorbents. International Journal of Chemical Engineering. 2022;2022(1):3282448.
Siqueira TCA, Silva IZ da, Rubio AJ, Bergamasco R, Gasparotto F, Paccola EA de S, et al. Sugarcane Bagasse as an Efficient Biosorbent for Methylene Blue Removal: Kinetics, Isotherms and Thermodynamics. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Internet]. 2020 Jan 14 [cited 2025 Dec 14];17(2). Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/526
Benmahdi F, Semra S, Haddad D, Mandin P, Kolli M, Bouhelassa M. Breakthrough Curves Analysis and Statistical Design of Phenol Adsorption on Activated Carbon. Chemical Engineering & Technology. 2019;42(2):355–69.
Bernal V, Erto A, Giraldo L, Moreno-Piraján JC. Effect of solution pH on the adsorption of paracetamol on chemically modified activated carbons. Molecules [Internet]. 2017;22(7). Available from: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85021360600&doi=10.3390%2fmolecules22071032&partnerID=40&md5=8fbaeb61e5c7e031c301b2198dbef9b8
Budnyak TM, Błachnio M, Slabon A, Jaworski A, Tertykh VA, Deryło-Marczewska A, et al. Chitosan Deposited onto Fumed Silica Surface as Sustainable Hybrid Biosorbent for Acid Orange 8 Dye Capture: Effect of Temperature in Adsorption Equilibrium and Kinetics. J Phys Chem C. 2020 July 16;124(28):15312–23.
Santos O, Nylander T, Rizzo G, Müller-Steinhagen H, Trägårdh C, Paulsson M. Study of Whey Protein Adsorption under Turbulent Flow. Heat Exchanger Fouling and Cleaning: Fundamentals and Applications. 2003 May 18;175.
Whitcomb PJ, Anderson MJ. RSM Simplified: Optimizing Processes Using Response Surface Methods for Design of Experiments. 2nd edn. New York, New York: Productivity Press; 2016. 304 p.
Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Protein Adsorption on a Hydrophobic Surface: A Molecular Dynamics Study of Lysozyme on Graphite. Langmuir. 2010 Apr 20;26(8):5679–89.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nor Afiqah Rosdi, Nur Adeela Yasid, Mohd Ezuan Khayat, Ain Aqilah Basirun, Mohd Yunus Shukor, Mohd Badrin Hanizam Abdul Rahim
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
