September 16, 2014
Work on Evonik's methionine plant in Belgium starts
A ground-breaking ceremony held this week signalled the start of the constructionwork onEvonik's first methionine plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
The plant will produce AQUAVI® Met-Met, a dipeptide made up of two methionine molecules. The product is afeed additive specially developed for shrimp and other farmed crustaceans.
The investment for the project, Evonik said, is in the "lower doubledigit-million-euro range."
Commercial production of the new plant will begin in the second half of 2015, the company said, adding that customers can, in the meantime, request samples from Evonik to carry out jointfeed studies.
Feed studies on quantities from pilot plants arealready underway worldwide, it said.
"Adding a highly effective methionine source to the feed is just asprofitable for shrimp and crustaceans as for fish. We now can offerour customers also for this species a tailor-made solution," saidDr. Emmanuel Auer, head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line atEvonik in Antwerp.
AQUAVI® Met-Met significantly reduces the consumption of fishmeal in shrimp aquaculture. It therefore lowers feed costs, reducesthe strain on fishing grounds worldwide, and helps water purity byreducing the amount of waste produced by the animals andnitrogen output into the environment through an optimal supply ofmethionine, Evonik explained. "With optimal nutrition, the shrimp stay healthier andthe environment is less polluted."
The Met-Met dipeptide is far less water soluble than other sourcesof methionine and, for this reason, will not wash out of the feed asquickly, according to Evonik. Consequently, the shrimp, which feed slowly on the seafloor, are able to take in sufficient methionine.
Their enzymes arealso able to break AQUAVI® Met-Met back down into two individualmethionine molecules. This way, the free amino acids can beefficiently used in precise synchronization with protein synthesisand growth.
"AQUAVI® Met-Met is not only an innovative source of methioninefor shrimp but also the first dipeptide in the world to be producedon commercial industrial scale and be economically viable for usein animal nutrition," said Dr.ChristophKobler, productmanager for AQUAVI® Met-Met.
Aquaculture is a global growth market. By 2015, 50% of edible meat from fish, crustaceans and shellfish isexpected to come from aquaculture. With MetAMINO® and DLMethioninefor AquacultureTM, Evonik is already a global marketleader in feed amino acids for fish feed, especially in the salmonidfeed segment (salmon, trout).
AQUAVI® Met-Met will initially beoffered for use with shrimp and crustaceans. Use with otherspecies will follow, Evonik said, Evonik produces and marketsthe four most important amino acids that are required in advancedanimal feed: Biolys® (L-lysine source), MetAMINO® (DLmethionine),Mepron® (DL-methionine for ruminants), DLMethionine for AquacultureTM, ThreAMINO® (L-threonine), andTrypAMINO® (L-tryptophan).
