Production of l -aspartic acid by biotransformation and recovery using reverse micelle and gas hydrate methods

l-Aspartic acid (l-Asp) was produced using Escherichia coli (ATCC 11303), and its recovery from the reaction mixture was studied using reverse micelle and gas hydrate methods. The effect of initial substrate concentration on l-Asp production was also investigated, and inhibition was shown to occur above 0.75 mol L−1. The values of the kinetic constants were determined as rmax=2.33×10−4 mol L−1 min−1, KM=0.19 mol L−1, and Kss=3.98 mol L−1. The reverse micelle phase used for extraction contained Aliquat-336, 1-decanol and isooctane, and a micro-injection technique was used for extraction of l-Asp. The reverse micelle system is a useful technique for obtaining small particle sizes, which can be used for the synthesis of nanoparticle biomolecules. Recovery of l-Asp from reverse micelles using CO2 hydrates was carried out, giving a recovery of 55%. The formation of CO2 hydrate from the reverse micelle solution breaks the micelle by reducing the amount of water in the micelle structure, thus precipitating the l-Asp.