Abstract Cheese-making is a process that produces multiple coproducts, of which whey is the most abundant in terms of volume. It is often considered a waste product, but whey is rich in lactose, proteins and fats. The aim of the study was to evaluate the environmental impact of the production of whey protein concentrate (WPC) with an ultrafiltration process throughout a life cycle approach. The environmental impacts of three WPCs, characterized by different protein concentrations (WPC35, WPC60, WPC80), were estimated. A scenario analysis was performed to understand the mitigation effect of the pre-concentration process carried out in a pretreatment plant to obtain whey with a dry matter content of 20%. Two sensitivity analyses were performed: the first changing the transport distance of whey, the second using a different allocation method. Transportation of the whey was one of the main hotspots in the life cycle assessment performed (28–70%); electricity use accounted for 18–20% of the impact. The alternative scenario, that involves the pre-concentration of whey, obtained a reduction of the impacts from 0.9% to 14.3%. The pre-concentration of whey in a pretreatment plant closer to the cheese factory reduces the environmental burden of the whole process. This occurs even if the energy consumption for pre-concentration increases due to the use of smaller and less efficient devices.

中文翻译：

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乳清蛋白浓缩物 (WPC) 生产：环境影响评估

摘要 奶酪制作是一个产生多种副产品的过程，其中乳清含量最多。它通常被认为是一种废物，但乳清富含乳糖、蛋白质和脂肪。该研究的目的是评估在整个生命周期方法中使用超滤过程生产浓缩乳清蛋白 (WPC) 对环境的影响。对以不同蛋白质浓度（WPC35、WPC60、WPC80）为特征的三种 WPC 的环境影响进行了估计。进行情景分析以了解在预处理厂中进行的预浓缩过程的缓解效果，以获得干物质含量为 20% 的乳清。进行了两个敏感性分析：第一个改变乳清的运输距离，第二个使用不同的分配方法。乳清的运输是生命周期评估中的主要热点之一（28-70%）；电力使用占影响的 18-20%。另一种方案，包括乳清的预浓缩，将影响从 0.9% 降低到 14.3%。在靠近奶酪工厂的预处理工厂中对乳清进行预浓缩，减少了整个过程的环境负担。即使由于使用较小且效率较低的设备而导致预浓缩的能耗增加，也会发生这种情况。在靠近奶酪工厂的预处理工厂中对乳清进行预浓缩，减少了整个过程的环境负担。即使由于使用较小且效率较低的设备而导致预浓缩的能耗增加，也会发生这种情况。在靠近奶酪工厂的预处理工厂中对乳清进行预浓缩，减少了整个过程的环境负担。即使由于使用较小且效率较低的设备而导致预浓缩的能耗增加，也会发生这种情况。