Effects of Ionic Speciation of Lysine on Its Adsorption and Desorption Through a Sulfone-type Ion-Exchange Column

Lysine produced during microbial fermentation is usually recovered by an ion-exchange process, in which lysine is first converted to the cationic form (by lowering the pH to less than 2.0 with sulfuric acid) and then fed to a cationexchange column containing an exchanger that has a sulfone group with a weak counterion such as NH;. Ammonia water with a pH above 11 is then supplied to the column to displace the purified lysine from the column and allow its recovery. To enhance the adsorption capacity and for a possible reduction in chemical consumption, monovalent lysine fed at pH 4 was investigated in comparison with conventional divalent lysine fed at pH 1.5. The adsorption capacity increased by more than 70% on a mass basis using pH 4 feeding compared with pH 1.5 feeding. Lysine adsorbed at pH 4 started to elute earlier than that adsorbed at pH 1.5 when ammonia water was used as the eluant solution, and the extent of early elution became more notable at lower concentrations of ammonia. Moreover, the elution of monovalent lysine fed at pH 4 displayed a stiffer front boundary and higher peak concentration. However, when the ammonium concentration was greater than 2.0 N, complete saturation of the bed was delayed during adsorption and the percent recovery yield from elution was lowered., both drawbacks that were considered inevitable features originating from the increased adsorption of monovalent lysine.