Production of bioplymers from milk whey: influence of microbiological and physicochemical parameters
Master degree thesis, Turin University.
In this thesis work we have studied a new process for the production of a biopolymer intended for “green plastic”, starting from whey, a dairy industry byproduct.
From the results obtained it seems evident that the selected micro-organisms are able to use the residues of serum sugars, transforming them largely in plastic polymer: waste is thus re-evaluated and converted into a new material with a low environmental impact. This type of process, in fact, could partially overcome the problems linked to the use of petroleum plastic because the new polymer is biodegradable, being torn down and assimilated by numerous microorganisms present in the environment.
