Bioresin: low-capex soluble protein extraction from process streams

Overview

Medium Well Technological Solutions’ BioResin platform is a low-capital-expenditure, bio-based ion-exchange solution for recovering and fractionating soluble proteins directly from un-clarified or dilute food process streams. The current focus is egg protein streams, targeting ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, and lysozyme. The platform combines high binding capacity with robust operation in high-turbidity, high-conductivity conditions, preventing the fouling and blinding issues common with membranes and chromatography columns.

BioResin is made from low-cost, highly available, upcycled plant-based byproducts, offering an alternative to expensive synthetic resins. It is designed to deliver pharma-grade binding capacity and selectivity while remaining economically viable for food-industry use. Two processing pathways are offered: BioResin-Pure, for high-purity isolation of specific functional egg fractions via mild pH/salt elution, and BioResin-Core, which captures lost proteins onto upcycled edible fibers to create clean-label, dual-benefit protein-fiber ingredients.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• High protein binding capacity of 120 mg/mL resin
• Handles high-turbidity and high-conductivity streams up to 9 mS/cm
• Operates in standard stirred tanks, removing the need for costly vertical columns
• Reusable resin with no membrane or column fouling
• Uses 100% upcycled plant-based byproducts as the resin matrix
• Selective recovery of ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, and lysozyme
• BioResin-Pure pathway for high-purity functional fractions
• BioResin-Core pathway for protein-fiber clean-label ingredients

Intended applications:

• Protein recovery from egg-white effluent and dilute wash-water streams
• Production of high-purity egg-protein fractions for food formulations
• Creation of clean-label, dual-benefit protein-fiber ingredients
• Downstream processing for food and alternative-protein manufacturing

Technology readiness level

The BioResin platform is at an early-stage validation stage. The planned roadmap includes proof-of-concept and feedstock characterization, bench-scale binding and elution screening, process optimization of stirred-tank contact time and liquid-to-resin ratio, and validation of functional properties such as foaming, heat stability, and gelation. Subsequent steps include techno-economic analysis, regulatory review, and pilot-scale demonstration at 50–200 L to produce multi-kilogram samples for end-use testing. The platform is therefore at roughly proof-of-concept to pilot-readiness stage and has not yet been commercially deployed.