DMC Biotech takes important step towards commercial production of L-alanine
Type of post: NEWS.
DMC
Biotechnologies (US biobased specialty chemical company focused on
microbial fermentation) has successfully produced L-alanine at pilot scale. Life
industrial conditions were recreated at BPF.
Press release: “DMC Biotech Completes Successful
Pilot of L-alanine”,
6/2/2020.
Figure 1. DMC Biotech takes
important step towards full commercialization of L-alanine
Pilot tests
Commercial key performance metrics were
achieved and performance from the bench scale was demonstrated at 3 m3
scale fermentation and for each of the downstream purification unit operations.
The robustness of DMC’s Dynamic Metabolic Control technology to the process environment
was also validated.
During the execution of the fermentation, a
technical failure of an inlet valve in the pilot plant resulted in a material
deviation from the protocol. This type of mechanical issue is commonplace in the
real world of industrial fermentation. The DMC strain and process were not
materially affected by this deviation and the target metrics were still
achieved because of the robustness of the technology and the timely response by
BPF’s operators.
Samples and commercial launch
Kilogram-sized samples of on-specification
product are currently being provided to potential customers, paving the way to
commercial launch later this year. No further strain improvement or process
engineering is required.
Product portfolio
The initial families of DMC products include:
- Amino acids l-alanine, valine, isoleucine and
leucine for animal feed and human nutrition, wellness and personal care.
- Organic acids and esters like pyruvates for
the nutrition and personal care markets.
- Terpenoids like limonene and geraniol for flavors
and fragrances, personal care and fine chemicals.
