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2025

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07

The Application of Electrodialysis Technology in Desalination in the Lactic Acid Fermentation Industry

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Lactic acid is an important organic acid and is widely used in food, medicine, chemical engineering and other fields. During lactic acid fermentation production, the fermentation broth often contains high concentrations of salt, which not only affects the purity of lactic acid but also increases the difficulty and cost of subsequent treatment. Therefore, how to efficiently separate the salt in the fermentation broth has become an important issue that the lactic acid fermentation industry needs to solve. The electrodialysis membrane separation technology provides a new solution for salt separation in lactic acid fermentation broth.

I. Basic Principles of Electrodialysis Technology
Electrodialysis is a membrane separation technology based on the effect of an electric field. It takes advantage of the selective permeability of ion-exchange membranes. Under the action of an external direct current electric field, it enables the charged particles (mainly ions) in the solution to migrate directionally, thereby achieving the separation of different components in the solution. During the electrodialysis process, cationic exchange membranes only allow cations to pass through, and anion exchange membranes only allow anions to pass through. Thus, under the action of an electric field, concentrated and dilute chambers are formed, achieving the concentration and desalination of salts.

Ii. Application of Electrodialysis Technology in Desalination of Lactic Acid Fermentation Broth
During the lactic acid fermentation process, the fermentation broth usually contains salts such as sodium lactate and calcium lactate. These salts not only affect the purity of lactic acid but also increase the difficulty of subsequent extraction and purification. Traditional salt separation methods such as calcium salt method and zinc salt method have problems such as long process flow, high energy consumption and many by-products. Electrodialysis technology, on the other hand, is a more efficient and energy-saving method for salt separation.

The desalination process by electrodialysis
During the salt separation of lactic acid fermentation broth, electrodialysis technology can directly convert lactate in the fermentation broth into lactic acid and simultaneously generate the corresponding alkaline solution. For instance, in bipolar membrane electrodialysis, sodium lactate can be converted into lactic acid and sodium hydroxide under the influence of an electric field. In this way, while extracting lactic acid, high-purity sodium hydroxide can also be obtained, achieving the recycling and reuse of resources.

The advantages of electrodialysis desalination
High efficiency and energy conservation: Electrodialysis technology can be carried out under normal temperature and pressure, without consuming a large amount of energy. Compared with the traditional thermal method of salt separation, it has a significant energy-saving advantage.

High purity: It can effectively separate lactic acid and salts, and the obtained lactic acid has high purity, meeting the requirements of the food, pharmaceutical and other fields.

Good environmental protection performance: No wastewater, waste residue or other pollutants are produced during the process, meeting environmental protection requirements.

Easy to automate: The equipment is simple to operate and easy to achieve automatic control, reducing labor intensity.

Iii. The Application Status of Electrodialysis Technology in the Lactic Acid Fermentation Industry
At present, electrodialysis technology has been applied in the salt separation process of the lactic acid fermentation industry. Scholars at home and abroad have conducted extensive research on this and achieved remarkable results. For instance, research shows that in bipolar membrane electrodialysis, the conversion rate of sodium lactate can reach over 95%, and the recovery rate of lactic acid can exceed 90%.

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