Opportunities for Waste to Energy in the Milk Production Industry: Perspectives for the Circular Economy

Miguel Casallas-Ojeda, Luz Elba Torres-Guevara, Diana M. Caicedo-Concha and María F. Gómez
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Miguel Casallas-Ojeda: School of Engineering, Campus Universitario del Puente del Común, Universidad de La Sabana, Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara: International School of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Campus Universitario del Puente del Común, Universidad de La Sabana, Puente del Común, Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia
Diana M. Caicedo-Concha: School of Engineering, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Carrera 73#2A-80, Cali 760034, Colombia
María F. Gómez: School of Engineering, Campus Universitario del Puente del Común, Universidad de La Sabana, Km 7 Autopista Norte de Bogotá, D.C., Chía 250001, Colombia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-24

Abstract: Cheese whey is a waste produced in the dairy industry which generates problems if it is dumped directly into the sewer due to its high organic load. An alternative for cheese whey management is anaerobic digestion, a biological process that transforms organic matter into biogas and digestate, two products with significant energy and agricultural potential. This work was aimed at contributing to the building of knowledge about the anaerobic degradation of cheese whey, developing a bibliometric analysis, and tracing trends in related research from 2010 up to the present, using PRISMA ® to develop a systematic review based on Scopus ® and using Excel ® and bibliometric software (VosViewer ® and RefViz ® ) for the identification of information. Our results show that the research around cheese whey is relatively recent and that the highest percentage of publications is from 2018 onwards. Twelve variables of the anaerobic cheese whey degradation process were identified and grouped into five factors: substrate, reactor configuration, digestate analysis, microbiological analysis, and inoculum. Likewise, it was identified that most of the anaerobic processes allow the implementation of the circular economy into the dairy sector. In conclusion, the application of anaerobic digestion in the dairy sector can help to close the productive cycles, produce biofuels, and reduce pollution.

Keywords: biofuels; bioenergy; circular economy; anaerobic digestion; anaerobic co-digestion; cheese whey; digestate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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