ANÁLISIS DE LA ETAPA DE HIDRÓLISIS DE LA LACTOSA DEL SUERO LÁCTEO PARA LA OBTENCIÓN DE BIOETANOL

A simulation model was developed for the hydrolysis of lactose, the main carbohydrate in whey, as the first stage in the production of 2G bioethanol (second generation) obtained from food waste. The acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of a model substrate of whey (5-20% w/w lactose) was studied experimentally to obtain the necessary kinetic parameters for the modeling and simulation of the reactors involved for a scale of 88 t of whey/h. This analysis demonstrated comparative advantages of enzymatic hydrolysis in terms of reactor dimensions and operating conditions. By means of an exergo-economic analysis of this process, it was determined that the enzymatic hydrolysis with concentration 20% w/w lactose, reaction modeled as pseudo-first order in an optimal system of two reactors (5 m3 and 4 m3) of complete mixture in series, be the most beneficial for achieving an 82% conversion, involving an exergo-economic cost of 31.2 U$S/s.