Shirin Dabestani

	PhD Candidate
	Contact Details
	T:	+61-2-9385-4339
	E:	s.dabestani@student.unsw.edu.au
	Add:	Room 208, Chemical Sciences Bldg The University of New South Wales Sydney, 2052, Australia

Profile

Education

• Masters in Chemical Process Engineering, UNSW, Australia
• Bachelors in Chemical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Iran

Research Project

Research Project Title: Protein recovery from vegetable processing wastewater effluent streams

Hundreds of megaliters per annum of wastewater can be generated as a by-product of vegetable processing in a single plant and pose a costly stream for treatment. However, these waste streams contain commercially valuable vegetable proteins and provide an important opportunity for waste utilization. For example native potato proteins have high functionality and nutritional value. However, traditional concentration and heat-coagulation methods often produce poor protein functionality and usability. The objective of this proposal is to investigate the recovery of proteins from vegetable cutting water using a combination of membrane processes to preserve protein value. Membrane technology has been used successfully to recover proteins from dilute waste streams such as cheese whey, utilizing a combination of concentration and diafiltration steps. In this study, the focus will be on vegetable protein recovery and processing. Novel membrane configurations to handle high solids concentrations will be explored in addition to conventional membrane processes. Characterization of protein fractions/functionality, membrane fouling, and recovery will be incorporated.

Supervisors

• Vicki Chen
• Jayashree Arcot (Food Science and Technology)