Generación de estrategias de producción más limpia para la pequeña industria láctea del Ecuador

Abstract

This research work was carried out in a small dairy industry in the Northwest of Pichincha that processes cheeses, yogurt and delicacies, in order to propose cleaner production strategies in dairy production processes, through environmental management tools, to encourage the dairy sector to apply sustainable systems in its processes. The company does not have a cleaner production program, and for this reason a series of cleaner production strategies associated with the most critical processes (in relation to water consumption, energy and waste generation) that are developed within the company. The study revealed that the company consumes 19 cubic meters of water, 430,574 KJ of electrical and thermal energy and produces 1.7 cubic meters of whey. The most critical processes in the production area were also identified, which are: cleaning activities, cooling in the pasteurization process and yogurt processing, handling of the cauldron and washing and dewatering in the processing of fresh cheese, mozzarella and cottage cheese. Based on these results, cleaner production strategies were proposed, in which methodologies were determined to reduce the consumption of water, energy and the generation of waste. In addition, the installation of a biodigester, a periodic maintenance plan for the cauldron, and the installation of solar panels and wetlands were proposed. As a conclusion of the work, it was possible to generate cleaner production strategies to reduce the consumption of water, energy and the generation of waste in the dairy company under study, which represents a starting point to direct small and medium-sized dairy companies from Ecuador towards the path of sustainability.