Demand for L-Phenylalanine Increases Rapidly

L-phenylalanine is an important amino acid with biological
activity. Man and animal can not synthesize it themselves and
have to get it from the outside world. It is one of the eight
indispensable amino acids and also an important raw material for
the synthesis of tyrosine in organisms. The most important
application of L-phenylalanine is to synthesize aspartam with
L-aspartic acid. Besides, it is also used as nutrition fortifier
and component for amino acid perfusion fluids and composite
amino acid preparations.
   The demand of L-phenylalanine in the world is more than 15
thousand tons today. Major producers include Monsanto of the
United States, Ajinomoto of Japan and Daesang of Korea. The
United States is the major consumer of L-phenylalanine worldwide
and the consumption accounts for around a half of the world total.
Western Europe and Japan come next.
   The capacity of L-phenylalanine in China was around 400 t/a
in 2005. Major producers include Zhejiang Yamei Biochemical
Engineering Co., Ltd., Nanchang Chemical Co., Ltd., Anhui Koyo
(Group) Co., Ltd., Pingdingshan Yiyuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,
Xinjiang Yining Fuxiang Biochemical Co., Ltd. and Changzhou
Niutang Chemical Plant Co., Ltd.
   The consumption of L-phenylalanine in China was around 3.5
thousand tons in 2005. The pharmaceutical sector consumed around
500 tons and the synthesis of aspartam consumed around 3 thousand
tons. The domestic consumption was mostly satisfied by imports.
   Processes for the commercial production of L-phenylalanine
include the enzyme process and the direct fermentation process.
The enzyme process is relatively simple, but the activity of the
enzyme is easily affected and the production cost is high. These
factors have restricted the product yield and the large-scale
commercial production. Foreign producers gradually eliminated
the enzyme process and shifted to use the direct fermentation
process in the mid-1980s. The direct fermentation process
requires lower investments in equipment and raw materials and
facilitates the large-scale commercial production.
   With the drastic demand growth in the edulcorant market, the
demand of L-phenylalanine will increase rapidly. According to
the projection made by experts, the demand of L-phenylalanine
in China will be more than 5 thousand tons a year in the next
5 years. The market prospect is therefore very bright.