Interview Request - Lactic Acid via Fermentation - Process Design & Parameter Validation

[iilard]

Hello BioSTEAM community,

My name is Ivano and I am building a process model in BioSTEAM for my Master's Thesis (University of Zurich) to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of lactic acid production. The process flow is:

Glucose -> Anaerobic Fermentation -> Separation (Biomass & Gypsum) -> Liquid-Liquid Extraction -> Evaporation -> 88 wt% L-Lactic Acid

My goal is to ensure the underlying mass and energy flows are industrially realistic, as they directly determine the LCA results. I am hoping to connect with professionals for ~30 minute interviews to validate critical parameters and avoid academic simplifications.

I am specifically looking for insights from:

Process Engineers:

• Realistic pressures, temperatures, and efficiencies of unit operations

• Pump placement / realistic process design

• Power requirements based on real-world scales (e.g., for large-scale fermenters or mixing in extraction).

Fermentation Specialists / Bioprocess Engineers:

• Industrially achievable titers, yields, and productivities for homo-lactic fermentation.

• Fermentor set-up

If you have experience in these areas and are willing to share your expertise, or if you can connect me with someone, I would really appreciate your support and availability.

Thank you!

PS. This is strictly for academic LCA modeling; no confidential data is needed. Your contribution will be formally acknowledged in my thesis.