NL1037050C2

NL1037050C2 - A method for processing whey.

Info

Publication number: NL1037050C2
Application number: NL1037050A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Elemir Pastornicky
Original assignee: Condit Internat Ltd
Priority date: 2009-06-19
Filing date: 2009-06-19
Publication date: 2010-12-21

Description

Λ 9 I , A method for processing whey

The present invention relates to a method for processing whey into an organic fertiliser. The present invention further relates to such an organic 5 fertiliser.

The processing of whey is known per se from International patent application WO 2005/054155. According to the method known therefrom, an organic fertiliser is obtained by subjecting whey to a fermentation step, which fermentation step is carried out by inoculating the whey with a certain amount of microorganisms.

10 This amount of microorganisms initiates the organic decomposition, in particular the fermentation, which fermentation is preferably carried out at a pH ranging between 5 and 7. After the whey has thus been fermented, a second fermentation step is carried out, with the possibility of a carrier material, for example sawdust, being added before such an operation takes place.

15 A nutrient composition for plants and animals is known from GB 1 500 326, in which whey is inoculated with microorganisms and is subsequently fermented in the presence of a plant extract, in particular kelp extract. The kelp extract used in the fermentation process has a high moisture content, which must be removed at a later stage in the process.

20 A nutrient composition is known from US 3.914.438, in which pretreated whey is sprayed onto a mixture of dry components, details of the pretreatment of the whey not being provided.

A growing medium is known from GB 2 294 257, in which an effluent from cheese processing is mixed with a waste product from wood processing and 25 the mixture thus obtained is composted.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for the organic processing of whey, with the product thus organically processed being suitable for use as a soil improver or a nutrient for agricultural purposes.

The method referred to in the introduction is characterised in that 30 the whey is subjected to a hydrolysation step in the presence of one or more enzymes.

The aforementioned aim is realised by applying such an embodiment of the present method. In particular, the present inventors have found that carrying out a hydrolysis step causes the long chain components contained in 1037050 = « ' *

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2 the whey to be broken down into short chain components, which surprisingly have a favourable effect as an organic fertiliser.

In a particular embodiment the whey thus hydrolysed is preferably mixed with one or more carriers, which carriers are in particular selected from the 5 group comprising high-protein sources and/or high-cellulose sources. Soy, bran and waste from the wood-processing industry, in particular sawdust, are particularly suitable for use as carriers. If non-genetically modified soy is added as a high-protein source, an end product will be obtained that may be qualified as an organic fertiliser, in particular if it is desirable for the end product to have a nitrogen 10 content of more than 2.5 wt.%.

After the addition of the aforementioned carrier(s) to the hydrolysed whey, it is in some embodiments desirable for one or more auxiliary materials to be supplementarily added to the mixture thus obtained, selected from the group comprising minerals, compounds with a high nitrogen content, stabilisers, 15 carbon-containing compounds and zeolites.

To minimise the occurrence of mould formation and rotting processes in the mixture thus obtained, which comprises hydrolysed whey, the aforementioned carriers and/or auxiliary materials, it is desirable to carry out a drying step, after which the mixture thus dried is preferably pelletised. The drying 20 step is for example carried out through a flow of hot air. Treatments with ozone and UV light can also be carried out to kill any harmful microbacteria present.

The present invention also relates to an organic fertiliser, with the fertiliser having a favourable effect for agricultural purposes when the concentration of hydrolysed whey in the fertiliser ranges between 10 and 95 wt.%., preferably 25 between 25 and 75 wt.%. If the concentration is less than 10 wt.%, the growth-promoting properties of the organic fertiliser will be insufficiently observed. If the concentration of hydrolysed whey is more than 95 wt.%, the organic fertiliser will be subject to disintegration, which is undesirable in practice.

The concentration of carrier in the organic fertiliser furthermore 30 preferably ranges between 25 and 80 wt.%.

The concentration of nitrogen in the organic fertiliser furthermore preferably ranges between 1 and 10 wt.%, based on the total weight of the organic fertiliser.

The moisture content is moreover preferably at most 15 wt.%, . > ' , » 3 based on the total weight of the organic fertiliser.

The present invention will be elucidated with reference to an example below, to which it should however be added that the present invention is in no way restricted to such an example.

5 Example 1

An amount of 500 kg of whey is mixed with an amount of 40 kg of enzymes, after which a hydrolysation step is carried out in a stirred bioreactor at room temperature for several hours. After the hydrolysation step the whey thus hydrolysed is mixed with a carrier, in particular an amount of 300 kg of sawdust. 10 After the addition of the sawdust and the execution of a mixing step, 20 kg of zeolite and 4 kg of charcoal are added as auxiliary materials. The mixture thus obtained is subjected to a drying treatment at a maximum temperature of 70°C and the mixture thus dried is pelletised, bagged and stored. The nitrogen content is 2.5 wt.%. The material thus obtained can be used to replace synthetic fertiliser and can moreover 15 be stored for several years without the fertiliser's organic activity decreasing.

Example 2

The same operations as in Example 1 were repeated, except that in the mixture sawdust was replaced by a 300 kg mixture of bran and non-genetically modified soy. The nitrogen content of the mixture obtained after the drying step is 5 20 wt.%. The material thus obtained can be used to replace synthetic fertiliser and can moreover be stored for several years without the fertiliser's organic activity decreasing.

1037050

Claims

Method for processing whey into a biological manure, characterized in that the whey is subjected to a hydrolysis step in the presence of one or more enzymes.

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more carriers are added to the thus hydrolyzed whey, selected from the group of protein-rich and / or cellulose-rich carriers.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that as protein-rich carrier substance soy, in particular non-genetically modified soy, is added.

4. Method according to one or more of claims 2-3, characterized in that to the mixture of hydrolysed whey and one or more carriers one or more auxiliaries are added selected from a group of minerals, nitrogen-rich compounds, stabilizers, carbon-containing compounds and zeolites.

A method according to claim 4, characterized in that the mixture obtained after the addition of one or more auxiliaries is subjected to a drying step, whereafter optionally a pelletizing step takes place.

6. Biological manure based on whey, characterized in that the content of hydrolysed whey is in the range of 10-95% by weight, based on the total weight of the organic manure.

7. Organic manure according to claim 6, characterized in that the carrier substance content is in the range of 25-80% by weight, based on the total weight of the organic manure.

Organic manure according to one or more of claims 6 to 7, characterized in that the moisture content is at most 15% by weight, based on the total weight of the organic manure.

9. Biological manure according to one or more of claims 6-8, characterized in that the nitrogen content is in the range 1-10% by weight, based on the total weight of the organic manure. Λ 0 3 7 0 5 0