ION-EXCHANGE SEPARATION OF LACTIC-ACID FROM FERMENTATION BROTH

The fermentation of lactose to lactic acid is usually accomplished by strong product inhibition, leading to the process retardation and low yields. In the present pal,er an attempt for the periodical removal of lactate ions from the broth using an ion-exchange technique is made. It is established that substrate conversion is considerably faster and practically complete, compared to test experiments with pH control an d without product removal. The possibility for feed-batch performance of a bioreactor, coupled with ion-exchange column is studied and prove d, too. Additional advantage of the studied technique is the recovery of the product in a relatively pure and concentrated form as a sodium salt.