Obtaining products from non-food raw materials has been a topical issue for the last decades. It is connected with the increasing number of inhabitants of our planet and the need to provide them with food. Back in the 80s of the last century, the German company "Hoechst" developed algorithms for obtaining high-quality protein concentrates. At that time, the USSR was one of the leading producers of proteins due to its inexhaustible raw material base. Today, technologies have moved far ahead, and there is already experience of hydrocarbon raw material based protein production.
Russia continues the traditions established in the USSR. And there is already experience in practical protein production from hydrocarbon raw materials. The pioneer in this sphere is the company “GIPROBIOSYNTEZ” with its own scientific-technical and production base. The method of microbial hydrocarbon raw material based protein production was patented by the company in 2019: patent RU 2 720 121 C1. The term of copyright protection of the original technology is until 2029.
How to obtain microbial protein
According to the results of the company's research, the patented technical solution allows increasing the productivity of the process of obtaining microbial hydrocarbon based protein up to 30%. It also solves the issue of purification and 100% utilization of the culture fluid that has been processed.
Methylococcus capsulatus GBS-15 bacteria are used in production processes. They are inoculated into the nutrient medium. The mix includes the following:
Potassium;
Manganese;
Metals (iron, copper, zinc);
Phosphoric acid, etc.
The bacterial culture is fermented. The maintained temperature of the mixture is 40-45°C. It is necessary to ensure continuous flow of 0.2-0.3 fermenter volume per hour. Separation is also performed, the finished biomass is dried.
The discharge culture liquid goes back to the storage tank after separation. It is fermented there until protein is obtained.
Relevance of the technology for the national economy sectors
The protein produced by this technology is used in agriculture. The products are used for animal feed. According to statistical data, the deficiency of feed proteins in agriculture in Russia is about 2 million tonnes per year. Therefore, obtaining hydrocarbon raw material based proteins is a promising direction for agricultural producers, and in the future - for producers of food products for the Russian citizens.
The use of gaseous hydrocarbons also has certain advantages:
Low cost of gas in Russia and its large reserves - up to 40% of the world volume;
Easy transport - through a network of pipelines that reach almost every settlement and industrial enterprise in the country;
Fast preparation for fermentation due to a high degree of purification of feedstock;
Easy separation of the finished biomass from the substrate.
In order to ensure the safety of production processes, it is required to use the explosion-proof equipment.
The widespread introduction of the technology makes it possible to eliminate the deficiency of feed protein for agriculture.
The developers forge ahead. In addition to obtaining high-quality hydrocarbon raw material based feed protein, the issues of obtaining a food ingredient and reducing the cost of this process are being solved at the same time.