Recovery of L-Arginine from model solutions and fermentation broth using zeolite-Y adsorbent

ABSTRACT: Arginine was produced via fermentation of sugars using the engineered microorganism Escherichia coli. Zeolite Y adsorbents in the form of powder and extrudates were used to recover arginine from both a real fermentation broth and aqueous model solutions. An adsorption isotherm was determined using model solutions and zeolite Y powder. The saturation loading was determined to 0.2 g/g using the Sips model. Arginine adsorbed from a real fermentation broth using either zeolite Y powder or extrudates both showed a maximum loading of 0.15 g/g at pH 11. This adsorbed loading is very close to the corresponding value obtained from the model solution showing that under the experimental conditions, the presence of additional components in the broth did not have a significant effect on the adsorption of arginine. Furthermore, a breakthrough curve was determined for extrudates using a 1 wt.% arginine model solution. The selectivity for arginine over ammonia and alanine from the real fermentation broth at pH ...