Evaluación del impacto ambiental generado por el vertimiento de lactosuero de la microempresa Lácteos Belén.

Abstract

Whey is the transparent phase that separates during cheese making, it is a greenish-yellow liquid with a high nutritional value, pouring 1L of whey into water sources can cause the death of all fish in 10 tons. of water. The project evaluated the level of impact generated by the company Lácteos Belén, in turn a strategy for the use of whey was established to generate added value, suggesting that the company create fermented and non-fermented beverages, being different products from the classic ricotta cheese that is the product that is generally made with whey, to reach this conclusion it was necessary to know the physicochemical parameters and especially the microbiological ones of the whey, due to the presence of E.coli and total coliforms in the whey samples, it is established that this is not It is suitable for consumption and cannot be easily used for food processing. In addition, it was necessary to know the production volumes in the material balance in order to establish the best alternative for use. All these data were also necessary for the elaboration of the environmental impact matrix of the Arboleda method, where a net impact of -4.0666 was established, being a moderate impact, but its main affectation is the residual waters generated, especially by cleaning equipment, which affects biota and water bodies.