Simulation and conceptual design of a dl-methionine production process by the chemical synthesis route

• Published in: Ion (Bucaramanga, Colombia) Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 65 - 81
• Main Authors: Pérez-Sánchez, Amaury, González-Abad, Arlette de la Caridad, Acosta-Solares, Amanda, Ranero-González, Elizabeth, Pérez-Sánchez, Eddy Javier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bucaramanga Universidad Industrial de Santander, Escuela de Ingeniería Química 08.05.2024
• Subjects: Amino acids; Animal feed; Chemical synthesis; Conceptual design; Design; Food additives; Methionine; Simulation models; United States > US
• ISSN: 0120-100X; 2145-8480
• DOI: 10.18273/revion.v37n1-2024005

Methionine is one of the two sulfur-containing amino acids demanded in the diet of humans, other mammals and avian species, while most of the produced methionine is consumed as an animal feed additive, especially in livestock production and the poultry market. In this paper, the techno-economic assessment and conceptual design of an industrial scale, feed grade dl-methionine production process was carried out using SuperPro Designer simulator. The plant was designed to produce 109 tons of dl-methionine per year through the chemical synthesis route. The total capital investment and annual operating cost of the proposed plant were USD $ 8.282 million and USD $ 1.323 million, respectively, while the net present value, the internal rate of return and payback time of the project were USD $ 4.436 million, 20.33 % and 4.74 years, respectively. The findings indicated that the proposed production process is feasible and profitable for a dl-methionine selling price of USD $ 35/kg. The innovative simulation model obtained in this work could be used for further optimization studies, as well as to increase the productivity and profitability of the proposed plant.