Scientists from the North Caucasus Federal University have developed a cleaning agent from dairy waste. It effectively destroys harmful microbes, is safe for humans and animals, hardly damages equipment and does not require rinsing with water.
The food industry has strict requirements for sanitary products. They must effectively destroy microbes, but at the same time be safe for equipment and people. Experts from the North Caucasus Federal University note that due to aggressive chemicals, which are often used for cleaning, the service life of equipment is reduced.
However, some scientists believe that such products are not always effective. For better disinfection, surfactants are needed, which increase the cost of the product. As a result, the price for the buyer is made up of the cost of electricity, water and these substances.
Specialists from NCFU, together with colleagues from Saudi Arabia, Germany and Yemen, have developed a new disinfectant. It is made from recycled milk (milk whey) and silver nanoparticles. This product does not need to be rinsed with water, which makes it convenient and economical.
The indicators of our product fully meet the requirements of the food industry: in terms of effectiveness against "cheese bacteria" (Penicillium roqueforti) and various forms of E. coli, it surpasses many analogues, while not harming metal equipment, such as alkali-based products.
The specialist noted that "dairy whiteness" is less dangerous for living organisms than commercial alkaline detergents. Its toxicity is 30% lower.
The average lethal dose of the substance calculated by us, which causes the death of half of the members of the test group of animals, is 150 times greater than that for sucrose, and 300 times greater than that for vitamin C. This means that our drug is 300 times less toxic than vitamin C. If we compare it with detergents based on sodium hydroxide, then we win 30 times in terms of LD50.
The researcher noted that the data were obtained during a study on rats.
In the future, scientists plan to study similar compositions based on whey mineralizate and silver nanoparticles, experimenting with various additives. This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia.
Earlier, Tomsk Polytechnic University created an innovative reactor for the production of biofuel. This reactor is highly resistant to aggressive chemical environments, which makes it more reliable compared to existing analogues in Russia.
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