Co-Fermentation of Agri-Food Residues Using a Co-Culture of Yeasts as a New Bioprocess to Produce 2-Phenylethanol.

Whey is a dairy residue generated during the production of cheese and yogurt. Whey contains mainly lactose and proteins, contributing to its high chemical oxygen demand (COD). Current environmental regulations request proper whey disposal to avoid environmental pollution. Whey components can be transformed by yeast into ethanol and biomolecules with aroma and flavor properties, for example, 2-phenyethanol (2PE), highly appreciated in the industry due to its organoleptic and biocidal properties. The present study aimed to valorize agri-food residues in 2PE by developing suitable bioprocess. Cheese whey was used as substrate source, whereas crab headshells, residual soy cake, and brewer's spent yeast (BSY) were used as renewable nitrogen sources for the yeasts Kluyveromyces marxianus and Debaryomyces hansenii. The BSYs promoted the growth of both yeasts and the production of 2PE in flask fermentation. The bioprocess scale-up to 2 L bioreactor allowed for obtaining a 2PE productivity of 0.04 g2PE/L·h, twofold better productivity results compared to the literature. The bioprocess can save a treatment unit because the whey COD decreased under the detection limit of the analytical method, which is lower than environmental requirements. In this way, the bioprocess prevents environmental contamination and contributes to the circular economy of the dairy industry.

Application of a volume retarded osmosis-low pressure membrane hybrid process for treatment of acid whey.

This study evaluated the treatment of acid whey through a volume-retarded osmosis-low-pressure membrane (VRO-LPM) hybrid process. The VRO-LPM process uses pressure naturally generated inside the closed draw solution (DS) tank to regenerate the DS, making it an economic process. Poly (sodium-4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were compared to determine which was a more suitable DS for acid whey treatment. Forward osmosis (FO) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were used in the VRO-LPM hybrid process because a single UF process showed high water flux and rejection efficiencies above 85% for both PSS and CMC. In both the FO and UF parts of the VRO-LPM process, PSS had a higher water flux than CMC. However, the increasing rate of the feed solution (FS) for CMC was greater than that of PSS, however the overall rejection efficiencies were similar for both DS. Therefore, the VRO-LPM process can be applied to acid whey treatment, and CMC seems to be a better choice of DS than PSS because of its higher concentrating ratio of FS and high overall rejection.