Techno-economic analysis of amino acids production with subcritical water technology

Author(s)

Sganzerla, William Gustavo ; Moreira, Barbara Pezzini ; Lachos-Perez, Daniel ; Zabot, Giovani L. ; Castro, Luiz Eduardo Nochi ; Forster-Carneiro, Tania ; Rostagno, Mauricio Ariel

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS; v. 222, p. 10-pg., 2025-08-01.

Abstract

This study conducted a techno-economic assessment of amino acid production from brewers' spent grains (BSG) using semi-continuous subcritical water hydrolysis. The process was operated at a pressure of 15 MPa, with a water flow rate of 5 mL/min, a solvent-to-feed ratio of 20 g water/g BSG, and at various temperatures (80 degrees C to 180 degrees C). The experimental results demonstrated that the amino acid yield of the single subcritical reactor (10.20 mg/g BSG) was higher compared to the two-sequential reactors (4.72 mg/g BSG). The hydrolysate obtained experimentally was composed mainly of tryptophan (215 mu g/mL), valine (64 mu g/mL), and aspartic acid (123 mu g/mL). The economic analysis revealed that the manufacturing cost of amino acids ranged from 33.66 USD/kg to 49.42 USD/kg. The implementation cost of downstream processing represents the most significant fixed capital investment, as complex unit operations are required to isolate and purify amino acids. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/26925-7 - Development of an automated system for biofuel precursor production using sub-critical technology
• Grantee: William Gustavo Sganzerla
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 18/14582-5 - Development of a two-dimensional extraction, separation and analysis system for evaluating the bioactivity of phytochemicals
• Grantee: Maurício Ariel Rostagno
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 18/14938-4 - Waste2energy: integration of supercritical technologies and anaerobic digestion through an automated system for the production of biofuel precursors
• Grantee: Tânia Forster Carneiro
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 21/04096-9 - Integration of the extraction/hydrolysis processes in subcritical water and purification for the valuation of grape bagasse in a biorrefinery concept
• Grantee: Luiz Eduardo Nochi de Castro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate