Did you know that whey, the by-product of making cheese, is a serious problem for the environment? 30% of milk volume becomes cheese, the rest is whey! Cheese makers try to add it to cow food, feed it to other animals, anything to get rid of it. Disposal fees are high for these guys.
So what else to do? Well, says the Economist, (May 22, p. 86), speak to Georgia Antonopoulou (whew!) of the University of Patras, Greece (if Greece is still there). It seems whey is rich in lactose, which can be used as fuel for microbial fuel cells, which Dr. Antonwhatever says, provides almost as much power as refined fuel. ( I guess they mean gasoline). Alas the process is still inefficient, but progress is being made. Stated tongue in cheek, “the technology can only mature, just like a good cheese”.
