Diseño y construcción de un sistema para la producción de queso ricota a partir lacto suero de la Planta de Lácteos ESPOCH

Abstract

A system was designed and built for the production of ricotta cheese from the whey of the Tunshi Dairy Plant, belonging to the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. The system is called a system formed by a kettle and a sieve. The Tunshi Dairy Plant team had the need to optimize its main contaminant; the whey, thus supporting the realization of this thesis. The finished and working system will be donated to the ESPOCH Dairy Plant located in Tunshi. The design is based on engineering calculations, mass and energy balances, the latter supported by thermodynamic fundamentals. The construction of the system was made of 1.5 mm thick AISI 304 stainless steel sheets, following the technical specifications of the drawings designed by the authors. The whey used for the operation of the system was characterized by laboratory tests, obtaining parameters of humidity (93%), organic matter (99.5%), fat (0.41%), protein (0.94%), identifying it as sweet whey, optimal for the production of ricotta cheese. The system, with an efficiency of 80%, can be of great use in Cheese Industries; transforming the whey, considered a waste, into a processed product. The result is 3.26 kg of ricotta cheese using 48 L of whey (sweet), by means of evaporation. The ricotta cheese obtained from the system complies with the NTE INEN 86 standards in force in the country for this food. The results obtained from surveys (product quality) show 90% acceptance by the general public. The system is recommended for student practices in areas such as: Unit Operations, Agroindustrial, Food Chemistry. When using the system it is important to have a high steam quality for a higher yield.