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.
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