Remote engineering for a cheese whey biorefinery: an Internet-based application for process design, economic analysis, monitoring, and control of multiple plant sites

Abstract

The proteolysis of cheese whey with the aid of immobilized enzymes is an attractive alternative for this by-product of the dairy industry. Among some possible applications for whey protein hydrolysates, one may cite their use as protein source for individuals with reduced capacity of digestion, or with genetic metabolic disorders (phenylketonuria patients, for instance). The multipurpose plant that processes whey is named here as a cheese whey biorefinery. This work presents the remote control and monitoring of the whey biorefineries using the Internet. In an integrated environment, the web application also enables simulation and economic analyses of the process. This technology might allow small companies to access a remote "engineering centre", with know-how on plant design and advanced control techniques. The idea can also be extended to large dairy companies, providing the remote control of geographically spread sites of production.

Instrumentation and Automation in the Sugarcane Ethanol Agroindustry

“…Indeed, the use of techniques already known for analysis, synthesis, optimization and advanced control of sugarcane industry would be the interpretation of classical Bioprocess Systems Engineering that was developed due to a demand from oil and petrochemicals industries. This approach was recently described by PINTO (2008) and PINTO et al (2009) for a cheese whey refinery, demonstrating the flexibility and capability of the technique for adaptation into the production of ethanol.…”

Valorization of whey using a biorefinery

“…For instance, whey has been proposed as a substrate for the production of d-lactic acid and polylactic acid, coupled with the production of biodegradable biopolymers such as PHAs and lactulose by Caulobacter segnis. 121 Pinto et al 122 conceived a biorefinery where whey is microfiltered and ultrafiltered to separate lactose and proteins. Lactose undergoes enzymatic hydrolysis while the protein concentrate can be dried or submitted to sequentially Figure 6.…”

“…This biorefinery was economically evaluated, simulated, and monitored through web-based remote software. 122 By using process simulation (i.e. flowsheeting), a biorefinery was proposed in which whey lactose would be transformed into ergosterol (previtamin D 2 ), propionic acid, probiotics, and vitamin B 12 .…”

Integration of Membrane Bioreactors with Edible Filamentous Fungi for Valorization of Expired Milk

“…Research towards management of expired milk is scarce in the literature. Great emphasis has been given to the valorization of cheese whey [3][4][5] or to the life-cycle assessment of the dairy sector [6,7].…”