Process for producing ammonium (meth-) acrylate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12264355-B2
Application number	US-201917286372-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2019
Priority date	Oct 18, 2018
Publication date	Apr 1, 2025
Grant date	Apr 1, 2025

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for preparing ammonium (meth-) acrylate, aqueous ammonium (meth-) acrylate solutions obtainable by such process, and (meth-) acrylic acid homopolymers or copolymers obtainable by polymerizing such ammonium (meth-) acrylate. The invention furthermore relates to a modular, relocatable bioconversion unit for manufacturing aqueous ammonium (meth-) acrylate solutions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for producing ammonium (meth-) acrylate, said process comprising the following steps:
(a) adding the following components (i) to (iii) to a reactor to obtain a composition for bioconversion:
(i) a biocatalyst capable of converting (meth-) acrylonitrile to ammonium (meth-) acrylate;
(ii) (meth-) acrylonitrile;
(iii) aqueous medium; and
(b) performing a bioconversion on the composition obtained in step (a) in a reactor;
wherein the reactor is a relocatable bioconversion unit, the unit comprising:
a single walled reaction vessel, the vessel having;
a volume from 10 m 3 to 150 m 3 ;
means for mixing the composition of step (a); and
means for controlling the temperature of the composition of step (a).

2. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the (meth-) acrylonitrile concentration of the composition at the end of the bioconversion is below 10.0% (w/w) by weight of the (meth-) acrylonitrile in the aqueous medium.

3. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of ammonium (meth-) acrylate at the end of the bioconversion is at least 10% (w/w) by weight of the ammonium (meth-) acrylate monomers in the aqueous medium.

4. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the biocatalyst is an enzyme having nitrilase activity.

5. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the biocatalyst having nitrilase activity is one selected from the group consisting of an isolated nitrilase, a recombinant construct, a recombinant vector comprising the recombinant construct, a recombinant microorganism comprising the recombinant construct, and a recombinant microorganism comprising the recombinant vector.

6. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the biocatalyst is a recombinant microorganism selected from the group consisting of Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodococcus rhodocrous , and Pichia pastoris.

7. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the relocatable bioconversion unit comprises a frame, a double-walled reaction vessel mounted into the frame having a volume from 10 m 3 to 150 m 3 , and an external temperature control circuit comprising at least a pump and a temperature control unit, wherein the composition of step (a) is circulated by means of a pump from the reaction vessel into the temperature control unit and back into the reaction vessel, thereby simultaneously controlling the temperature and mixing the composition of step (a).

8. Process according to any of claim 1 , wherein the relocatable bioconversion unit comprises a frame, a single walled reaction vessel mounted into the frame having a volume from 10 m 3 to 150 m 3 , and an external temperature control circuit comprising at least a pump and a temperature control unit, wherein the composition of step (a) is circulated by means of a pump from the reaction vessel into the temperature control unit and back into the reaction vessel, thereby simultaneously controlling the temperature and mixing the composition of step (a).

9. Process according to claim 8 , wherein the amount of the composition of step (a) cycled per hour through the temperature control circuit is from 100% to 1000% of the total volume of the composition of step (a) in the bioconversion unit.

Assignees

• Basf Se

Inventors

• Ghislieri Diego
• Oedman Peter
• Zimmermann Tobias Joachim
• Schmidt Anna-Corina

Classifications

• C12Y305/05001

  Nitrilase (3.5.5.1) · CPC title

• C12N9/78

  acting on carbon to nitrogen bonds other than peptide bonds (3.5) · CPC title

• C12M41/18

  Heat exchange systems, e.g. heat jackets or outer envelopes · CPC title

• C12M29/18

  External loop; Means for reintroduction of fermented biomass or liquid percolate (loop type reactors for chemical or physical processes B01J19/2435) · CPC title

• C12P13/00

  Preparation of nitrogen-containing organic compounds · CPC title