Study on separation of conalbumin and lysozyme from high concentration fresh egg white at high flow rates by a novel ion-exchanger

In this report, we show that it is possible to separate valuable proteins from egg-white using a ProductivTM CM ion-exchanger column operated at flow rates significantly higher than those than can be achieved using traditional particulate adsorbents. In the approach taken, sample pretreatment is restricted to a simple dilution of the egg-white, which can then be applied to the column at superficial velocities (Vs) of up to 13.8 m/h. Under a loading of 220 mg total protein per milliliter of ion-exchanger, the resolution (Rs) between the eluted conalbumin and lysozyme fractions was found to be almost constant during nine consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles. For all nine consecutive batches, the column average adsorption capacity was greater than 30 mg/mL, with 90% recovery of adsorbed protein being achieved in each run. The overall productivity achieved was 12.6 kg/m3 h for lysozyme and 31.2 kg/m3 h for conalbumin. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.