Optimization of sugarcane bagasse for whey adsorption: a sustainable approach to enhancing nutrient-rich animal feed

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.

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