Effect of process parameters on the recovery of lactose in an antisolvent acetone/acetone-ethanol mixture: A comparative study based on sonication medium

•Effect of sonication medium and irradiation power on recovery of lactose was studied.•Lactose recovery was found to increase with increase in sonication time.•Lactose recovery was found directly proportional to the antisolvent concentration. Recovery of lactose from the whey using sonocrystallization was studied experimentally. The effect of sonication medium and irradiation power levels was evaluated using three different ultrasonic equipments. Effects of various parameters such as sonication time, pH of the medium, antisolvent (acetone and acetone-ethanol mixture) and concentration of lactose were determined. The optimal parametric conditions were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size distribution, and zeta potential measurements. Overall, the highest lactose recovery was obtained using a mixture of acetone and ethanol as antisolvent in bath sonication as well as atomization process.