LACTIC-ACID PRODUCTION BY ELECTRODIALYSIS .2. MODELING

One interesting alternative to the usual end-of-pipe processes for tre ating waste water produced during cheese-making involves its fermentat ion to sodium lactate. Then, electrodialysis can be used to recover fr ee lactic acid from the fermentation broth. The design and optimizatio n of such a process is aided by a suitable mathematical model. This wo rk presents a model of the performance of an electrodialysis stack to be used in such a process. Its reliability has been assessed by compar ison with experimental data for free lactic acid recovery from sodium lactate solutions. A suitable procedure for estimating some process-de pendent parameters is also discussed.