Amino acid purification through activated carbon

Amino acids are used as animal feed additives (lysine, methionine, threonine), flavor enhancers (monosodium glutamic, serine, aspartic acid) and as specialty nutrients in the medical field. Glutamic acid, lysine and methionine account for the majority, by weight, of amino acids produced in the world.

Amino acid production

Today there are three ways to produce amino acids:

Direct chemical synthesis;
Fermentation and
Bioconversion using enzymes.

Selection of the processes depends on available technology, costs of raw material, market prices and sizes, cost of running fermentation versus synthesis reactions, and the environmental impact of the process itself. The table below illustrates the main processes used in the production of amino acids:

Amino acid	Production process
L-glutamate	Fermentation
D, L. Methionine	Chemical
L-Lysine HCl	Fermentation
Glycine	Chemical
L-Phenylalanine	Fermentation
L-Aspartic acid	Enzymatic
L-Threonine	Fermentation
L-Cysteine	Extraction, Enzymatic
D, L –Alanine	Fermentation
L- Glutamine	Fermentation
L-Arginine	Fermentation
L- Tryptophan	Fermentation
L – Valine	Fermentation
L –Leucine	Fermentation, Extraction
L –Alanine	Enzymatic
L –Isoleucine	Fermentation
L – Histidine	Fermentation
L – Proline	Fermentation
L – Serine	Fermentation
L - Tyrosine	Fermentation

Amino acid purification: activated carbon adsorbers

During the production of amino acids several isolation, separation and purification technologies are used. Desotec powder activated carbon and granular activated carbon are used to remove colour and other impurities to:

Improve the crystallisation process by removing impurities
Improved yield and therefore less product losses
Colour removal
High purity end products
Removal of toxic or foaming compounds before fermentation
Improved fermentation process
Improved colour stability
High purity end products

The result is a purified, high-quality amino acid free of contaminants, thanks to the technology of activated carbon purification techniques!

Desotec can offer a range of mobile active carbon adsorbers to avoid on-site carbon handling or limit capital investment. For a total purification solution, do not hesitate to contact us!

At DESOTEC’s facilities, all used carbon is analysed so the right measures can be taken for handling and removing the saturated carbon out of the mobile filters. All molecules that were adsorbed on the activated carbon at the customers’ site, are desorbed inside DESOTEC’s reactivation furnaces. These contaminants are then fully destroyed, in accordance with National and European legislation, by an incineration and neutralisation setup. The entire installation and it's emissions are under continuous on-line monitoring, which guarantees that only harmless water vapour is seen exiting the chimney.