The Manufacturing
Process
Although its components—aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol—occur naturally in foods, aspartame itself does not and must be manufactured. NutraSweet' (aspartame) is made through fermentation and synthesis processes.
Fermentation
Direct fermentation produces the starting amino acids needed for the manufacture of aspartame. In this process, specific types of bacteria which have the ability to produce certain amino acids are raised in large quantities. Over the course of about three days, the amino acids are harvested and the bacteria are destroyed.
1 To start the fermentation process, a sample from a pure culture of bacteria is put into a test tube containing the nutrients necessary for its growth. After this initial inoculation the bacteria begin to multiply. When their population is large enough, they are transferred to a seed tank. The bacterial
Aspartame
strains used to make L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine are B. flavum and C. glutamicum respectively.
2 The seed tank provides an ideal environment for growing more bacteria. It is filled with the things bacteria need to thrive, including warm water and carbohydrate foods like cane molasses, glucose, or sucrose. It also has carbon sources like acetic acid, alcohols or hydrocarbons, and nitrogen sources such as liquid ammonia or urea. These are required for the bacteria to synthesize large quantities of the desired amino acid. Other growth factors such as vitamins, amino acids, and minor nutrients round out seed tank contents. The seed tank is equipped with a mixer, which keeps the growth medium moving, and a pump, which delivers filtered, compressed air. When enough bacterial growth is present, the contents from the seed tank are pumped to the fermentation tank.
3 The fermentation tank is essentially a larger version of the seed tank. It is filled with the same growth media found in the seed tank and also provides a perfect environment for bacterial growth. Here the bacteria are allowed to grow and produce large quantities of amino acids. Since pH control is vital for optimal growth, ammonia water is added to the tank as necessary.
4 When enough amino acid is present, the contents of the fermentation tank are transferred out so isolation can begin. This process starts with a centrifugal separator, which isolates a large portion of the bacterial amino acids. The desired amino acid is further segregated and purified in an ion-exchange column. From this column, the amino acids are pumped to a crystallizing tank and then to a crystal separator. They are then dried and readied for the synthesis phase of aspartame production.[ex/]
Read more:
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Aspartame.html#ixzz2nohGVhB3
External Quote:
A process using an enzyme from Bacillus thermoproteolyticus to catalyze the condensation of the chemically altered amino acids will produce high yields without the β-form byproduct.[ex/]
External Quote:
In some markets, aspartame manufacture takes advantage of modern genetic laboratory processes. A plasmid introduces genes into E. coli bacteria; the genes are incorporated into the bacterial DNA and they increase production of enzymes that enhance the production of phenylalanine. The bacteria produce more phenylalanine, serving as little living factories. The phenylalanine these workhorses produce for us is exactly the same as phenylalanine from any other source. It is disingenuous and inflammatory to characterize it as "derived from excrement." Genetic processes like this are widely used today. One stunning example is Humulin. Diabetics used to develop allergic reactions to the beef and pork antigens in insulin derived from cows and pigs because it was slightly different from human insulin and contained impurities. Scientists found a way to put human insulin genes into E. coli bacteria and put them to work producing true, pure human insulin. This was such a great advantage to diabetics that animal insulins are no longer even available.[ex/]
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/
