Cheese whey management: A review (original) (raw)
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Cheese whey utilization is of major concern nowadays. Its high organic matter content, in combination with the high volumes produced and limited treatment options make cheese whey a serious environmental problem. However, the potential production of biogas (methane), hydrogen or other marketable products with a simultaneous high COD reduction through appropriate treatment proves that cheese whey must be considered as an energy resource rather than a pollutant. The presence of biodegradable components in the cheese whey coupled with the advantages of anaerobic digestion processes over other treatment methods makes anaerobic digestion an attractive and suitable treatment option. This paper intends to review the most representative applications of anaerobic treatment of cheese whey currently being exploited and under research. Moreover, an effort has been made to categorize the common characteristics of the various research efforts and find a comparative basis, as far as their results are concerned. In addition, a number of dairy industries already using such anaerobic digestion systems are presented.
The dairy biorefinery: Integrating treatment processes for cheese whey valorisation
Journal of Environmental Management, 2020
With an estimated worldwide production of 190 billion kg per year, and due to its high organic load, cheese whey represents a huge opportunity for bioenergy and biochemicals production. Several physical, chemical and biological processes have been proposed to valorise cheese whey by producing biofuels (methane, hydrogen, and ethanol), electric energy, and/or chemical commodities (carboxylic acids, proteins, and biopolymers). A biorefinery concept, in which several value-added products are obtained from cheese whey through a cascade of biotechnological processes, is an opportunity for increasing the product spectrum of dairy industries while allowing for sustainable management of the residual streams and reducing disposal costs for the final residues. This review critically analyses the different treatment options available for energy and materials recovery from cheese whey, their combinations and perspectives for implementation. Thus, instead of focusing on a specific valorisation platform, in the present review the most relevant aspects of each strategy are analysed to support the integration of different routes, in order to identify the most appropriate treatment train.
2016
Whey is the major by-product of the dairy industry, which is produced in large quantities and usually disposed off causing major environmental pollution, due to its high organic load. The objective of this work is a development of a new pretreatment and transformation of whey residues into useful organic compounds. In this study, we realize two treatments of whey; the first, a chemical treatment using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) (0.5 M) at 45C °. The second is a biological treatment using Bacillus spp. A total of 07 samples of whey effluents were collected within 07 days, and then were put into analysis. Results show the Whey Samples (WS) discharged from dairy processing industry was highly contaminated with organic compounds. The average values of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Biological oxygen demand (BOD) were 1280 and 703 mg02/l. oil and grease concentration up to 8 mg/l was detected. The chemical treatment using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) has reduced 93 % of the COD, and 95% of the BOD...
Cheese whey and cheese factory wastewater treatment with a biological anaerobic-aerobic process
Water Science and Technology, 1995
Research on the anaerobic treatmentof raw cheese whey started in 1990with the objective of developing a technologysuitable for medium size cheese factories that have growing disposal problems and cannot afford high investmentcosts for whey valorisation technologies (such as whey protein and lactose recovery. spray drying. ete.), In order to couple process stability and high loads. a new downflow-uptlow hybrid reactor (DUHR) has been designed. The reactor was able to reach B, values around 10 g CODeI-I.d-I, with 98% COD convertedto gas and effluentsolubleCOD valuesclose to 1,000ppm; no external additionof alkalinity is required to maintain a stable pH thaI was constantly around 6.5-6.7 in the downtlow pre-acidification chamber and around 7.5 in the bio-methanation uptlow chamber. The high strength of the cheese whey treated gives an effluent that still contains high amounts of COD, ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus and therefore a post treatmentis required in order to meet standard limits. Tests of post treatment were carried out during two years with a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The SBR was tested at various FIM values with different durations of anoxic-anaerobic-oxic cycles, obtaining. under certain conditions, more than 90% removal of COD. nitrogen and phosphorus.
Cheese whey wastewater: characterization and treatment
The Science of the total environment, 2013
► This research presents an exhaustive characterization of cheese and other dairy effluents. ► We focus our attention on cheese whey wastewater as a strong biodegradable saline effluent. ► We report on the biological and physicochemical treatments of cheese whey wastewater. ► We show that a pre-treatment with chemical precipitation is a viable solution for these effluents. ► The implementation of zero discharge systems is possible for agricultural reuse.
Biohydrogen Production from Cheese Whey Wastewater in a Two-Step Anaerobic Process
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2012
Cheese whey-based biohydrogen production was seen in batch experiments via dark fermentation by free and immobilized Enterobacter aerogenes MTCC 2822 followed by photofermentation of VFAs (mainly acetic and butyric acid) in the spent medium by Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 strain. E. aerogenes free cells grown on cheese whey diluted to 10 g lactose/L, had maximum lactose consumption (∼79%), high production of acetic acid (1,900 mg/L), butyric acid (537.2 mg/L) and H 2 yield (2.04 mol/mol lactose; rate,1.09 mmol/L/h). The immobilized cells improved lactose consumption (84%), production of acetic acid (2,100 mg/L), butyric acid (718 mg/L) and also H 2 yield (3.50 mol/mol lactose; rate, 1.91 mmol/L/h). E. aerogenes spent medium (10 g lactose/L) when subjected to photofermentation by free Rhodopseudomonas BHU 01 cells, the H 2 yield reached 1.63 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 0.49 mmol/L/h). By contrast, immobilized Rhodopseudomonas cells improved H 2 yield to 2.69 mol/mol acetic acid (rate, 1.87 mmol/L/h). The cumulative H 2 yield for free and immobilized bacterial cells was 3.40 and 5.88 mol/mol lactose, respectively. Bacterial cells entrapped in alginate, had a sluggish start of H 2 production but outperformed the free cells subsequently. Also, the concomitant COD reduction for free cells (29.5%) could be raised to 36.08% by immobilized cells. The data suggest that two-step fermentative H 2 production from cheese whey involving immobilized bacterial cells, offers greater substrate to-hydrogen conversion efficiency, and the effective removal of organic load from the wastewater in the long-term.
Use of immobilised biocatalysts in the processing of cheese whey
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2009
Food processing industry operations need to comply with increasingly more stringent environmental regulations related to the disposal or utilisation of by-products and wastes. These include growing restrictions on land spraying with agro-industrial wastes, and on disposal within landfill operations, and the requirements to produce end products that are stabilised and hygienic. Much of the material generated as wastes by the dairy processing industries contains components that could be utilised as substrates and nutrients in a variety of microbial/enzymatic processes, to give rise to added-value products. A good example of a waste that has received considerable attention as a source of added-value products is cheese whey. The carbohydrate reservoir of lactose (4-5%) in whey and the presence of other essential nutrients make it a good natural medium for the growth of microorganisms and a potential substrate for bioprocessing through microbial fermentation. Immobilised cell and enzyme technology has also been applied to whey bioconversion processes to improve the economics of such processes. This review focuses upon the elaboration of a range of immobilisation techniques that have been applied to produce valuable whey-based products. A comprehensive literature survey is also provided to illustrate numerous immobilisation procedures with particular emphasis upon lactose hydrolysis, and ethanol and lactic acid production using immobilised biocatalysts. (M.R. Kosseva). duction operations. A major by-product is whey, a complex mix of many components. On the basis of cheese consumption [1] and production details, it is estimated that approximately 9 million tonnes of cheese per annum is produced within the EU, giving rise to an annual whey production figure of the order of 50 million m 3 . Whereas proportions of this are used within food and even pharmaceutical formulations, often after drying or fractionation, significant volumes remain surplus to requirements and must be disposed 0141-8130/$ -see front matter
Cheese Whey Processing: Integrated Biorefinery Concepts and Emerging Food Applications
Foods
Cheese whey constitutes one of the most polluting by-products of the food industry, due to its high organic load. Thus, in order to mitigate the environmental concerns, a large number of valorization approaches have been reported; mainly targeting the recovery of whey proteins and whey lactose from cheese whey for further exploitation as renewable resources. Most studies are predominantly focused on the separate implementation, either of whey protein or lactose, to configure processes that will formulate value-added products. Likewise, approaches for cheese whey valorization, so far, do not exploit the full potential of cheese whey, particularly with respect to food applications. Nonetheless, within the concept of integrated biorefinery design and the transition to circular economy, it is imperative to develop consolidated bioprocesses that will foster a holistic exploitation of cheese whey. Therefore, the aim of this article is to elaborate on the recent advances regarding the conv...
Valorization of cheese whey using microbial fermentations
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2020
Dairy industry produces considerable amounts of liquid discharges, with high organic load. Cheese whey (CW), the liquid resulting from the precipitation and removal of milk casein during cheese-making, and the second cheese whey (SCW) derived from the production of cottage and ricotta cheeses, are the main byproducts of dairy industry. The major constituent of CW and SCW is lactose, contributing to the high BOD and COD content. Because of this, CW and SCW are high-polluting agents and their disposal is still a problem in dairy sector. CW and SCW, however, also consist of lipids, proteins and minerals, making them useful for production of various compounds. In this paper, microbial processes useful to promote the bioremediation of CW and SCW are discussed, and an overview on the main whey-derived products is provided. Special focus was paid to the production of health-promoting whey-drinks, vinegar and biopolymers which may be exploited as value-added products in different segments of food and pharmaceutical industries. with a special focus on value-added products such as health-promoting whey drinks from lactic and acetic fermentations, vinegar and biopolymers (poly-hydroxyalkanoates and bacterial cellulose). Dairy industry produces considerable amounts of liquid discharges, with high organic load. Cheese whey (CW), the liquid resulting from the precipitation and removal of milk casein during cheese-making, and the second cheese whey (SCW) derived from the production of cottage and ricotta cheeses, are the main byproducts of dairy industry. Currently, the income from the Market of CW and its derivates has a small impact on dairy sector. In fact, according to data obtained from private dairy industries/factories the average Market prices in North-Italy are as follows: CW is 25-30 €/ton; CW powder for both animal husbandry and human nutrition is 1000-1200