Department of Bioenergy, Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu, India
*Email: energyengineershree@gmail.com
Online published on 16 February, 2017.
Today, the main problems faced are waste disposal and fuel crisis. But we can relate the two by making use of appropriate technologies. “Wealth from waste” is promising option to solve these problems. By alternative energy sources, the idea of fermenting lactose in surplus Whey to produce fuel ethanol has gained attention. Whey is only 4–5% lactose-still it causes a significant environmental impact as it has high COD. It is estimated that in India the paneer production is about 16, 000 t/year (MoFPI, annual report, 2010) which yields 135 x 106 L of whey. It has an ethanol production potential of 4.08x106 L/year. In this study, the characterization of whey has been studied and found that pH 5.5, Total Solids 5 mg/l, Volatile Solids-55 mg/l, Biological Oxygen Demand-1600 mg/l, Chemical Oxygen Demand-6560 mg/l and lactose content 1.56 g/100 g.
Lactose, Whey, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Ethanol and COD
