This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Un proyecto para la valorización integral del lactosuero generado por las queserías

The lactosuero, when being organic matter, can turn into a residue contaminante if it does not manage properly

A project for the integral valorisation of the lactosuero generated by the queserías

David Pozo25/01/2013

Avoid that the lactosuero hit in the environingingment transforming it in destined alimentary products to the human and animal consumption, as well as in biofuel, is the aim of the project ‘Valorlact', funded by the Program Life+ of the European Commission. The initiative looks for, among others objective, avoid that the lactosuero was treated like a residue and that happen to form part of the alimentary chain, what supposes a new opportunity of business for the sector quesero and for the one of production of foods.

The lactosuero of quesería is the resultant liquid of the coagulation of the milk in the process of manufacture of the cheese, after the separation of the casein and the fat. When treating of an organic matter can turn into an element contaminante if it does not manage properly. From here that the technicians of Azti-Tecnalia, in collaboration with the others entities involved, go to design a plan of action that marks like objective can recycle more than 80% of the lactosuero generated by the queserías. “The lactosuero constitutes the main by-product of the industry quesera and his high content of organic matter turns it into an important contaminante if it is poured directly to the half aquatic or to the terrain. Equally, when it is poured to the network of saneamiento can saturar the stations of purification of waste water. His gestión like residue is very difficult and costly by the high volume of water that contains and by the high cost of treatment that requires, besides, supposes a loss of prime matter of high nutritious value since it contains proteins, lactose, vitamins, etc.”, affirms Marta Rentería, of the Area of sustainability of the alimentary chain of Azti-Tecnalia.

In Spain calculates a volume of lactosuero wrongly managed of more than 100 million litres to the year

In terms of volume, the manufacturing of cheese in the Basque Country generates a quantity of lactosuero of around 25 million litres to the year, quantity that varies according to the season. A big part of said generation produces in queserías small and average that find very disperse along all the geography, what, joined to the high cost of the necessary infrastructures for his valorisation, does that these queserías can not face the necessary economic investment in case alone. This does that big part of this lactosuero was not managed of the most correct form possible (is managed like residue –slime, scattered in the terrain or poured to aquatic ecosystems), with the consistent environingingmental danger and sanitary ware associated.

The environingingmental problem that ocasiona the manufacturing of cheese and the back generation of lactosuero in Spain and Europe is similar to the described in the Basque Country, if it splits of the base that in both territories exist small and average queserías artesanales that do not manage of correct form his lactosuero. In Spain, the production of cheese in the year 2010 was of more than 200 million kg. (Faostat). If it considers a half generation of 10 litres of lactosuero by kilo of cheese, this launches a volume of more than 2.000 million serum to the year. It estimates that in Spain the activity quesera artesanal is roughly 5% of the total production, what supposes a volume of lactosuero wrongly managed of more than 100 million litres to the year.

The situation is the small and average queserías contrasts mostly with the one of the big producers. “These, when generating important volumes of lactosuero, can derive it to the production of serum in dust since the cost of the transport minimises and the processes of treatment are designed so that they are viable only with big volumes. Even so, part of the serum of these companies also derives to destinations without value or deficitarios as they are the direct feeding to the livestock and the poured to debugger. The aim of the project is that these big companies are tractor trucks of the solutions that require greater volumes of lactosuero, revalorizando the whole of his by-product jointly with which collect of some of the others queserías”, aims also the researcher of Azti-Tecnalia.

New healthy and functional foods

Other sectors benefited by the initiative ‘Valorlact' are the one of human and animal feeding. The specialists of the organisations participants want to achieve new alimentary products –in shape of dairy, soups, drunk, etc.– that they contribute distinct functionalities and that redunden in the health of the consumers. For the sector of animal feeding supposes the occasion to access to a prime matter of low cost and that, besides, improves the nutritional quality of the piensos, when having ingredients of value added.

The project has realised until the moment a compilation of information to update the data of generation of lactosuero and of the level of equipment of the queserías

In these moments the project finds in his first phases. It has realised a compilation of information to update the data of generation of lactosuero and of the level of equipment of the queserías. Likewise, They are collecting samples of serum for his characterisation and to realise some preliminary proofs to scale laboratory of treatments of concentration, dried and biogás. Of parallel form, are defining the products that pretend elaborate in base to the derivatives of the lactosuero that generate in each case, always taking into account that the first option will be that they can manufacture in the same queserías where generate or in companies of the local surroundings.

Precisely the embryonic state of the project does not allow still know the investment that a quesería would have to realise in case that wanted to give value to his lastosueros. “The necessary investment will depend on the solution that propose in each case and of the infrastructure with which explain each quesería at present. What himself pretends in this project is that each solution adapt the best possible to the situation of each quesería regarding equipment required, possibility of communication and road transport, availability of the queseros to implant each solution, existence of helps that can apply, etc.”, argues the researcher.

“It is necessary to establish strategies of performance that allow to llevar a correct gestión and valorisation of this by-product in viable conditions from the punto so much technician like economic, taking into account the geographic situation and the quantity of volume of each quesería in concrete. For each case will study the revalorización that was more profitable, beginning by the products that have greater value as they can be precisely the foods for humans or animal. For the cases in which the valorisation can not realise in the sector of the feeding go to study other uses like the obtaining of biogás, the addition to processes of composting or the feeding of systems of lombricultura with the back obtaining of credit”, as it explains to Interempresas Marta Rentería.

How contribute Azti-Tecnalia to the project?

The technological centre Azti-Tecnalia is realising the technical coordination of the project, since in him participate two private companies, Iberlact and Bioingeniería Environingingmental and another technological centre, Neiker, all this under the general coordination of the Steering of Innovation and Alimentary Industries of the Basque Government. In addition to this coordination, Azti-Tecnalia llevar the obtaining and analysis of the different fractions of lactosuero, the development and production to pilot level of the new products for human feeding, the study of his escalado to level artesanal and industrial, as well as the proofs of obtaining of biogás to scale laboratory.

In base to the data obtained in the previous actions, will participate in the realisation of tests it demonstration of collected and assessment of the lactosuero, in the development of the Plan of Action and the Leaf of Route for the gestión of the lactosuero of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, and in the study of the environingingmental sustainability, economic feasibility and social appearances of the solutions proposed.