Continuous production of lactic acid using immobilized cells of lactobacillus casei

Immobilisation is one technique to increase cell concentration in a continuous biological process. In the present work, we investigate a process in laboratory scale with microorganisms immobilized onto porous glass beads (Siran-Glas, 1). In this process lactic acid is produced by fermentation of whey permeate, a waste product of dairy industry with lactic acid bacteria. By immobilization we could improve the productivity of continuous process, further improvements will result from optimization of the substrate composition. The aim is to develop a low cost biological process using a waste-product as substrate, thereby reducing the expense for sewage treatment and producing a substance like lactic acid which can be used as raw material for other applications.