REDUCTION OF WATER CONSUMPTION AND POLLUTION IN THE CORN MASA PRODUCTION PROCESS
Impact/Purpose:
A recycling process for masa production water can reduce water consumption and nejayote discharge. The goal of our project is to minimize water consumption without changing masa quality. Nejayote must still be discharged after the recycled water reaches a maximum residue saturation level. It has been further hypothesized that saturated nejayote could be treated in order to recover a value added product(s). A series of pilot tests will be conducted in order to generate nejayote for 5, 10 and 20 recycle times followed by proximate and mineral analyses. Based on the results different recycling/treatment methods will be evaluated using a matrix analysis of selected criteria.
Description:
Maize (corn) is the principle food source in Mexico accounting for approximately 70 percent of the total calorie intake and 50 percent of the total protein intake (Paredes and Saharopulos, 1983). Maize is primarily used to produce masa, a maize based dough. In Mexico there are currently over 100,000 small and 25 large masa manufacturing facilities which consume over 2.2 billion gallons of water (INEGI, 1999). Water conservation is of utmost importance in part because up to 54 percent of the population in Mexico will experience physical water scarcity by the year 2025 (Barker et al., 2000). About 83 percent (1.8 billion gallons) of water consumed for masa production is disposed of as wastewater or nejayote. The high pH (11-13) and high pollutant levels (BOD of 8,000 mg/L, COD of 25,000 mg/L and TSS of 20,000mg/L) of nejayote is potentially harmful to several environmental ecosystems. Most past attempts to reduce nejayote have failed because changes in the traditional masa production process also cause changes in final product quality. Masa production processes and the masa product quality have been the same for thousands of years causing resistance to masa production process changes. Therefore, traditional masa production processes must be maintained while reducing water consumption and nejayote discharge by masa manufacturers.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:08/15/2009
Completion Date:08/14/2010
Record ID:
248919
Keywords:
RECOVERY AND REUSE OF MATERIALS THROUGH SYSTEM DESIGN, SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN ENDPOINTS, RESOURCE RECOVERY, SUSTAINABILITY, PROCESS SUSTAINABILITY, CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY, GREEN MANUFACTURING,
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:PURDUE UNIVERSITY - MAIN CAMPUS
Mailing Address
:Fiscal Planning 1076 Freehafer Hall
Citation
:West Lafayette
State
:IN
Zip Code
:47907
Project Information:
Approach
:The initial study proposed will help to determine 1) the feasibility of the overall goals of this project, 2) potential value added products, and 3) the acceptability of the new process into current masa manufacturing facilities. These three main points may be furthermore used as educational tools in teaching about the importance of water conservation in Mexican communities as well as to educate University students about non-US cultural emphasis on tradition.
Cost
:$9,112.00
Research Component
:Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development
Approach
:The initial study proposed will help to determine 1) the feasibility of the overall goals of this project, 2) potential value added products, and 3) the acceptability of the new process into current masa manufacturing facilities. These three main points may be furthermore used as educational tools in teaching about the importance of water conservation in Mexican communities as well as to educate University students about non-US cultural emphasis on tradition.
Cost
:$9,112.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Water
Approach
:The initial study proposed will help to determine 1) the feasibility of the overall goals of this project, 2) potential value added products, and 3) the acceptability of the new process into current masa manufacturing facilities. These three main points may be furthermore used as educational tools in teaching about the importance of water conservation in Mexican communities as well as to educate University students about non-US cultural emphasis on tradition.
Cost
:$9,112.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Materials & Chemistry
Project IDs:
ID Code
:SU834326
Project type
:EPA Grant