For the purpose of reducing pollution and the reutilization of salted egg whites, which are byproducts of the manufacturing process of salted egg yolks and normally treated as waste, an aqueous two-phase flotation (ATPF) composed of polyethylene glycols (PEG 1000) and (NH4)2SO4 was applied to develop a simple, inexpensive and efficient process for the separation of ovalbumin (OVA) from salted egg whites. The effects of the concentration of PEG, the concentration of (NH4)2SO4, the flow rate and the flotation time on the flotation efficiency (Y) and purity (P) of OVA were investigated. A response surface method (RSM) experiment was carried out on the basis of a single-factor experiment. An efficient separation was achieved using ATPF containing 5 mL of 80% PEG 1000 (w/w), 28 mL of 28% (NH4)2SO4 (w/w), 35 mL/min of the flow rate and 30 min of the flotation time, while 2 mL of the salted egg white solution (salted eggs white (v): water (v) = 1:4) was loaded. Under the optimal conditions, Y and P of OVA could reach 82.15 ± 0.24% and 92.98 ± 0.68%, respectively. The purified OVA was characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), liquid chromatography-nano electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (Nano LC-ESI-MS/MS), ultraviolet spectrum (UV), fluorescence spectrum (FL) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results indicated that the purity of OVA obtained by ATPF was satisfactory and there was no obvious difference in the structure of the OVA separated by ATPF and the standard. The results of the functional properties revealed no significant differences between OVA obtained by ATPF and the standard in oil binding capacity, viscosity, emulsibility and foam capacity.
Keywords: aqueous two-phase flotation; extraction; ovalbumin; reutilization of food waste; salted egg white.