On 15 April, 2016, Evonik Industries AG (Evonik) announced to put the world’s first methionine dipeptide plant into production. Located in Antwerp (Belgium), its new plant was started construction in Sept. 2014, with an investment of around USD11.30 million (EUR10 million, exchange rate: EUR1.00=USD1.13, sourced on hexun.com).

This plant devotes to producing a brand new feed additive for shrimps and other crustaceans, named AQUAVI® Met-Met, a dipeptide of two methionine molecules. This new product is expected to be launched in mid-2016, as the actual production was delayed to April.

Evonik is the largest powder methionine producer in the world (capacity: 580,000 t/a), 40% of the global sales. It mainly produces essential amino acids for animal nutrition.

According to analyst CCM, after enriching its product category and developing more special amino acids, Evonik will improve its competitiveness and enlarge sales in the feed market.

Feed additives for crustaceans

In 2015, half of the fish, crustaceans, and shellfish consumed globally originated from aquaculture. Fishmeal (containing large amount of methionine), as a protein source in feeds, is a significant cost for producers. Thus, when the market price of fishmeal keeps soaring, producers prefer some cheaper substitutes.

"Experiments have turned out that supplementation with amino acids allows significant reduction in the addition of fishmeal to feeds," disclosed Evonik.

The brand new AQUAVI® Met-Met can meet crustaceans’ (like shrimps) need for feeds. It features in:

• Stability: keeping stable in water

• Uniqueness: low water solubility, resolved in the digestive tract

• Environmentally-friendliness: reducing water pollution and preventing over fishing

This new product improves the efficiency and sustainability of shrimp farming. In one tonne of shrimp feed, the addition of 560 g AQUAVI® Met-Met boasts the efficacy equal to that of 1,000 g DL-methionine, mainly because the water solubility of methionine dipeptide is far lower than that of methionine. What’s more, AQUAVI® Met-Met can be resolved in the digestive tract of shrimp, continuously providing methionine for the synthesizing of protein.

"AQUAVI® Met-Met offers a cost-efficient and sustainable solution for shrimp and crustacean farming," said Dr. Emmanuel Auer, head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik, "Given the growing global population and limited availability of resources, this appears to us to be vitally important."

Other special amino acids

Evonik devotes to producing special amino acids. So far, it has developed various feed additives for most commercial animals:

• MetAMINO®: supplementing DL-methionine

• Mepron®: providing rumen protected methionine for dairy cows, specially encapsulated in a patented blend of fibers

• CreAMINO®: improving performance of fast-growing animals and recovering the creatine

• Probiotics: enhancing animal performance

So far, Evonik has stood out in the aquaculture feed additive industry. AQUAVI® Met-Met will expand Evonik's market in feed additives for crustaceans.

“AQUAVI® Met-Met extends our range of feed amino acids for animal nutrition. It is another specialty with high value for our customers. This will further strengthen our leading position in market and technology,” said Dr. Reiner Beste, chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH.

This article comes from Amino Acids China E-News 1604, CCM

Tag: methionine dipeptide      amino acids

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