Diseño de una planta a escala industrial para la elaboración de ácido láctico mediante fermentación líquida: Artículo de investigación

The present work was carried out with the aim of designing an industrial lactic acid plant that would use the residual whey from the processes of the dairy industries of the canton of Santa Ana, located in the province of Manabí, as a substrate. The investigation was begun by calculating the potential annual demand for lactic acid in the province of Manabí ($ 273,600), which represents 16% of the national market, taking this as a reference we set out to capture 10% of the local market ($ 27,360). A bibliographic investigation was carried out where it was determined that the best yield was 8.3% for the production of lactic acid from the fermentation of the whey using the bacterium lactobacillus bulgaricus as a microorganism. The stoichiometric balances of the biological equation, mass and energy balances were then made to produce 48 liters of lactic acid daily, which covers the proposed demand (10%). From this, the sizing of the plant was carried out and the respective flow diagrams, blocks and equipment that describe the production process were prepared. Keywords: lactic acid, whey, fermentation, lactobacillus bulgaricus, diagram.El presente trabajo se realizó con el fin de diseñar una planta industrial de ácido láctico que utilice como sustrato el suero lácteo residual de los procesos aplicados en las industrias lácteas del cantón Santa Ana, ubicado en la provincia de Manabí. Se inició la investigación calculando la demanda potencial anual de ácido láctico en la provincia de Manabí ($273,600), misma que representa el 16% del mercado nacional, tomando esto como referencia nos propusimos acaparar el 10% del mercado local ($27.360). Se llevó a cabo una investigación bibliográfica donde se determinó que el mejor rendimiento corresponde al 8,3% para la producción de ácido láctico a partir de la fermentación del lacto suero utilizando como microorganismo la bacteria lactobacillus bulgaricus. Se realizaron los balances estequiométricos de la ecuación biológica, balances de masa y energía para producir 48 litros de ácido láctico a diario, que cubre la demanda propuesta (10%). A partir de esto se realizó el dimensionamiento de la planta y se elaboraron los respectivos diagramas de flujo, bloques y equipos que describen el proceso de producción. Palabras clave: ácido láctico, suero lácteo, fermentación, lactobacillus bulgaricus, diagrama. Abstract The present work was carried out with the aim of designing an industrial lactic acid plant that would use the residual whey from the processes of the dairy industries of the canton of Santa Ana, located in the province of Manabí, as a substrate. The investigation was begun by calculating the potential annual demand for lactic acid in the province of Manabí ($ 273,600), which represents 16% of the national market, taking this as a reference we set out to capture 10% of the local market ($ 27,360). A bibliographic investigation was carried out where it was determined that the best yield was 8.3% for the production of lactic acid from the fermentation of the whey using the bacterium lactobacillus bulgaricus as a microorganism. The stoichiometric balances of the biological equation, mass and energy balances were then made to produce 48 liters of lactic acid daily, which covers the proposed demand (10%). From this, the sizing of the plant was carried out and the respective flow diagrams, blocks and equipment that describe the production process were prepared. Keywords: lactic acid, whey, fermentation, lactobacillus bulgaricus, diagram. Información del manuscrito:Fecha de recepción: 17 de septiembre de 2019Fecha de aceptación: 09 de diciembre de 2019Fecha de publicación: 10 de enero de 202