Process Economics Program Report 241
Published: May-2002
Biocatalysis is a term used to describe the catalytic
activity of biological systems, which includes living whole cells, parts of
cells and enzymes. Humans have harnessed the capabilities of biocatalysts for
centuries to generate useful products.
The ability of biocatalysts to selectively produce useful
products under relatively mild conditions compared to its chemical catalyst
counterpart make biocatalysts an interesting and powerful addition to a process
synthesis "tool-box". Recent advances in technology have markedly
increased the ability of industry to discover new biocatalysts and optimize
their performance. These advances are coming at a time when both the chemical
and pharmaceutical industries are facing increasing pressure to produce more
effective products and to make them more efficiently.
This report discusses the advances in technology for the improvement of biocatalyst
performance and the resulting intellectual property being generated.
The process economics are analyzed for two processes
for the manufacture of the L-amino acid, L-aspartic acid by biocatalysis. Both
the existing and new processes are analyzed. In the new process the coupling
of two biocatalysts allows for the elimination of a chemical catalyst, and
reconfiguration of the process. This process reconfiguration results in the
virtual elimination of a by-product produced in the existing process.
This report will be of interest to the chemical and pharmaceutical
industries currently using or planning the incorporation of biocatalysts into
their process portfolio.
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