Integrated bioprocess for the simultaneous production of lactic acid and dairy sewage treatment

Abstract

An integrated biological process was developed for the conversion of whey lactose to lactic acid. We report about the achievement of maximum COD reduction and thus a substantial unburdening of the environment, combined with the economic production of lactic acid, appropriate for industrial scale. The process – designed for continuous operation – consists of four main steps: (i) Protein recovery by ultrafiltration leading to the first product: protein concentrate. The resulting filtrate is the fermentation substrate acid whey permeate. (ii) Adjustment of the composition of the permeate in the medium preparation step in order to ensure the proper function of the following process steps. (iii) Conversion of the lactose to lactate by fermentation with lactic acid bacteria in a cell recycle reactor, using ceramic microfiltration membranes. (iiii) Conversion of the lactate in the cell-free permeate stream of the fermentation to free lactic acid by bipolar electrodialysis.

A stable operation of the process was attained up to more than 2000 hours. Using a new selected strain of lactic acid bacteria, a lactic acid productivity of 17 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ is achieved at total lactose conversion without any nitrogen supplements like yeast extract. A lactic acid concentration of 190 g l⁻¹ is obtained in the acidic cell of the electrodialysis unit and the COD of the remaining sewage is diminished by 92%. As an additional cost reduction item, the neutralization agent of the fermentation is recovered in the caustic cell of the bipolar electrodialysis unit.

A cost evaluation for an industrial scale process (100 000 t of whey per year) resulted in a price of 0.66 $ per kg of lactic acid, which under present terms hits the goal of making this process economic for the large scale production of lactic acid as an attractive building block for various purposes in chemical industry.