The Process of Making Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

What is MSG?

MSG (monosodium glutamate) or mono natrium glutamate is a sodium salt of the glutamate acid .

Glutamate acid is an amino acid that is one of the important component of protein that our bodies need.

Glutamate acid naturally found in our food everyday, such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, tomatoes and various vegetables.

MSG is used as a food additive with umami taste and is commonly marketed as a flavour enhancer.

History of MSG Production

MSG was discovered in 1908 by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda as a basic taste substance of kelp that is a traditional seasoning in Japan.

Originally, MSG was manufactured by extraction from acid hydrolysate of plant protein.

In the late 1950s, fermentation technology was established and used for the commercial production of MSG. This was the beginning of modern amino acid production.

Since then, fermentation technologies for various amino acids have been established. Production of L-Gln by fermentation started in the late 1960s.

Manufacturing process

The manufacturing methods of amino acids are categorized as:

extraction from hydrolysates of animal or plant protein,

chemical synthesis,

fermentation, and

enzymic.

Production of MSG by fermentation as other amino acids production. It is more cheaper and simplest.

The manufacturing process of an amino acid by fermentation comprises fermentation, crude isolation and purification processes.

Raw Material of MSG

In Indonesia, MSGcomes from sugar cane molasses, which is the result of sugar cane milling process as a secondary product.

Chemical and Physical Properties of molasses:

Form : Liquid

Color : Black

Density : 1.47 g/ml

Vicosity : 4. 323 Cp

Specific Heat : 0.5 Kcal/Kg °C

Component :

Sugar : 62 %

Water : 20 %

Non Sugar : 18 %

Other materials

Urea, needed as bacterial nutrient source

Molecular formula : (NH2)2CO

Molecular Weight : 60.06

Form : White Powder

Solubility : easily dissolved in water

NaOH

Sodium hydroxide use in the neutralizing process and the forming process of MSG, which reacts with the Glutamic Acid.

Physical and Chemical Properties :

Molecule Mass : 40

Color : White

Solubility : easily dissolved in water

How to Make MSG ?

MSG is normally obtained by the fermentation of carbohydrates, using bacterial or yeast species from genera such as Brevibacterium, Arthobacter, Microbacterium, and Corynebacterium.

Yield of 100 g/litre can be prepared in this way.

From 1909 to the mid 1960’s, MSG way prepared by hydrolysis of wheat gluten, which is roughly 25 % glutamic acid. Glutamic Acid is one of the least soluble amino acids, which facilities its purification.

Production of Monosodium Glutamate by Fermentation

Process Diagram of MSG

Fermentation

Raw material : molasses as a source of carbon converted into glutamate acid (GA)
fermentation process : microbes, changes sugar into acid glutamate.
The fermentation process is conducted in the fermentor/bioreactor with the set temperature and pH optimum as well as additional supporting materials such as urea as a source of carbon, salt and organic growth factors as nutrition.

Bioreaktor

Instrumentation and control processing make sure that:
Temperature : 320C oxygen consumption
pH : 7.3 CO2 production
Dissolved oxygen supply cells

Separation Glutamate Acid (GA)

The fermentation last 35-45 hours and then the fermentation is centrifuged to remove biomass and the other solid organic materials.
Glutamate acid is in solution with the separated parent resin, where the acid glutamate will be detained in the resin.

To get MSG, resin which already contain glutamate acids is regenerate with NaOH solution, where the solvent has been used to regenerate resin, already contain MSG.
Then to get MSG becomes white, this decolorized with active carbon solution. The establishment of the MSG can be seen from the chemical reaction following :

FormationPhase of MSG Crystals

Main solution that has been decolorizing contain MSG in the low concentration, to increase the concentration of MSG in the solution, it is necessary to evaporate it.
To get MSG crystal done with decreasing the temperature of the basic solution by crystallization process.

Characteristic Product

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Molecular Formula : HOOCCH2CH2CH
(NH2)COONa.H2O
Molecular Weight : 187.13
Form : Crystal White
Solubility : Easy soluble in water
PH : 7.0
Melting Point : 232 oC

Baker's Yeast Production

The baker’s yeast production process flow chart attached below can be divided into four basic steps. In order these steps are, molasses and other raw material preparation, culture or seed yeast preparation, fermentation and harvesting and filtration and packaging. The process outlined in the flow chart takes approximately five days from start to finish.

The basic carbon and energy source for yeast growth are sugars. Starch can not be used because yeast does not contain the appropriate enzymes to hydrolyze this substrate to fermentable sugars. Beet and cane molasses are commonly used as raw material because the sugars present in molasses, a mixture of sucrose, fructose and glucose, are readily fermentable. In addition to sugar, yeast also require certain minerals, vitamins and salts for growth. Some of these can be added to the blend of beet and cane molasses prior to flash sterilization while others are fed separately to the fermentation. Alternatively, a separate nutrient feed tank can be used to mix and deliver some of the necessary vitamins and minerals. Required nitrogen is supplied in the form of ammonia and phosphate is supplied in the form of phosphoric acid. Each of these nutrients is fed separately to the fermentation to permit better pH control of the process. The sterilized molasses, commonly referred to as mash or wort, is stored in a separate stainless steel tank. The mash stored in this tank is then used to feed sugar and other nutrients to the appropriate fermentation vessels.

Baker’s yeast production starts with a pure culture tube or frozen vial of the appropriate yeast strain. This yeast serves as the inoculum for the pre-pure culture tank, a small pressure vessel where seed is grown in medium under strict sterile conditions. Following growth, the contents of this vessel are transferred to a larger pure culture fermentor where propagation is carried out with some aeration, again under sterile conditions. These early stages are conducted as set-batch fermentations. In a set-batch fermentation all the growth media and nutrients are introduced to the tank prior to inoculation.

From the pure culture vessel, the grown cells are transferred to a series of progressively larger seed and semi-seed fermentors. These later stages are conducted as fed-batch fermentations. During a fed-batch fermentation, molasses, phosphoric acid, ammonia and minerals are fed to the yeast at a controlled rate. This rate is designed to feed just enough sugar and nutrients to the yeast to maximize multiplication and prevent the production of alcohol. In addition, these fed-batch fermentations are not completely sterile. It is not economical to use pressurized tanks to guarantee sterility of the large volumes of air required in these fermentors or to achieve sterile conditions during all the transfers through the many pipes, pumps and centrifuges. Extensive cleaning of the equipment, steaming of pipes and tanks and filtering of the air is practiced to insure as aseptic conditions as possible.

At the end of the semi-seed fermentation, the contents of the vessel are pumped to a series of separators that separate the yeast from the spent molasses. The yeast is then washed with cold water and pumped to a semi-seed yeast storage tank where the yeast cream is held at 34 degrees Fahrenheit until it is used to inoculate the commercial fermentation tanks. These commercial fermentors are the final step in the fermentation process and are often referred to as the final or trade fermentation.

Commercial fermentations are carried out in large fermentors with working volumes up to 50,000 gallons. To start the commercial fermentation, a volume of water, referred to as set water, is pumped into the fermentor. Next, in a process referred to as pitching, semi-seed yeast from the storage tank is transferred into the fermentor. Following addition of the seed yeast, aeration, cooling and nutrient additions are started to begin the 15-20 hour fermentation. At the start of the fermentation, the liquid seed yeast and additional water may occupy only about one-third to one-half of the fermentor volume. Constant additions of nutrients during the course of fermentation bring the fermentor to its final volume. The rate of nutrient addition increases throughout the fermentation because more nutrients have to be supplied to support growth of the increasing cell population. The number of yeast cells increase about five- to eight-fold during this fermentation.

Air is provided to the fermentor through a series of perforated tubes located at the bottom of the vessel. The rate of airflow is about one volume of air per fermentor volume per minute. A large amount of heat is generated during yeast growth and cooling is accomplished by internal cooling coils or by pumping the fermentation liquid, also known as broth, through an external heat exchanger. The addition of nutrients and regulation of pH, temperature and airflow are carefully monitored and controlled by computer systems during the entire production process. Throughout the fermentation, the temperature is kept at approximately 86 degrees Fahrenheit and the pH in the range of 4.5-5.5.

At the end of fermentation, the fermentor broth is separated by nozzle-type centrifuges, washed with water and re-centrifuged to yield a yeast cream with a solids concentration of approximately 18%. The yeast cream is cooled to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit and stored in a separate, refrigerated stainless steel cream tank. Cream yeast can be loaded directly into tanker trucks and delivered to customers equipped with an appropriate cream yeast handling system. Alternatively, the yeast cream can be pumped to a plate and frame filter press and dewatered to a cake-like consistency with a 30-32% yeast solids content. This press cake yeast is crumbled into pieces and packed into 50-pound bags that are stacked on a pallet. The yeast heats up during the pressing and packaging operations and the bags of crumbled yeast must be cooled in a refrigerator for a period of time with adequate ventilation and placement of pallets to permit free access to the cooling air. Palletized bags of crumbled yeast are then distributed to customers in refrigerated trucks.

Sugar Processing from Sugar Cane and The Derivative’s Products

Sugar cane is a member of the grass family. Sugar cane has its 'modern' origins in Papua New Guinea, and is now grown in tropical regions throughout the world. Sugar cane requires strong sunlight and abundant water for satisfactory growth. Sugar Cane farmers, usually cultivate hybrids of several species, and some varieties can grow up to five metres tall.

Sugar Cane looks rather like bamboo cane, and it is within the cane that the sucrose is stored. In the right climate Sugar Cane will grow in 12 months and, when cut, Sugar Cane will re-grow in another 12 months, provided the roots are undisturbed. Sugar is made by some plants to store the energy which they do not need straight away, rather like the way in which animals make and store fat.
The process whereby plants make sugars is photosynthesis. The plant takes in carbon dioxide from the air though pores in its leaves and absorbs water through its roots. These are combined to make sugar using energy from the sun and with the help of a substance called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is green which allows it to absorb the sun's energy more readily and which, gives the plants' leaves their green colour. Oxygen is given off during the process of photosynthesis.
It takes between 12 months and 2 years to plant and harvest a Sugar Cane crop and some types of Sugar Cane can grow nearly as tall as a house, but this delicious food is best known as the white grains found in a bowl on nearly every dining table in the world and used to sweeten nearly everything that we eat.

1. Production Process
1.1 Extraction of Juice

Extraction of juice from sugar beet

On delivery by lorry or train, the sugar beets are cleaned in a beet washer (2). An elevator then takes the beets to slicers (3) with rotating knives where they are cut into small slices (cossettes). The sugar cannot be extracted from these slices until their cell walls have been made permeable by heat (75°C). For this purpose the cossettes are led through a mixer (4) (stirrer) where a heat exchange takes place with hot raw juice coming in the opposite direction from the diffusion towers (5). At the end of the mixing zone, the mixture of juice and slices is pumped into the diffusion towers, i.e. around 20-m-high cylinders with diameters of 4 to 8 m arranged one behind the other. Hot water, again in counter-current, is used to extract the sugar from the cossettes. The pulp is dried in drums, pelletised and used as fodder.

Extraction of Juice From Sugar Cane

The sugar cane is unloaded in bundles onto the feed table by a crane and then transported to the mills on a chain conveyor, which has sets of individual rotating knives to cut the cane into small chips. These chips then pass through mills consisting of three interlocking, fluted rollers where the juice is extracted. The mills are driven by the speed-reducing gears of steam turbines. The sugar still contained in the cane is extracted with water, the leached cane fibres leaving the last mill as bagasse, which serves as fuel for generating the process steam.

1.2 Juice Clarification
The raw juice extracted from sugar beet or sugar cane is pumped into an intermediate tank (7) and mixed with lime milk to separate any nonsugar substances contained in the raw juice. Then the raw juice is fed into a carbonatation tank (9). Carbon dioxide is added to convert the
lime into calcium carbonate, which encloses the non-sugar particles in such a manner that they may be sieved off in thickening and pressure filters (10). The compound thus extracted (11) is used as a fertiliser. The filtrate is a clear, light yellow sugar juice.

1.3 Juice Thickening (Evaporation)
After purification and filtration, the thin juice has a sugar content of 12 to 14% and must be thickened by evaporating the excess water to produce a concentrate with a sugar content of 65 to 70% (syrup). This is done in a multi-stage evaporator unit, at the end of which the juice has the desired concentration.
Evaporation is performed in two stages: initially in an evaporator station to concentrate the juice and then in vacuum pans to crystallize the sugar. The clarified juice is passed through heat exchangers to preheat the juice and then to the evaporator stations. Evaporator stations consist of a series of evaporators, termed multiple-effect evaporators; typically a series of five evaporators. Steam from large boilers is used to heat the first evaporator, and the steam from the water evaporated in the first evaporator is used to heat the second evaporator. This heat transfer process continues through the five evaporators and as the temperature decreases (due to heat loss) from evaporator to evaporator, the pressure inside each evaporator also decreases which allows the juice to boil at the lower temperatures in the subsequent evaporator. Some steam is released from the first three evaporators, and this steam is used in various process heaters in the plant.


1.4 Crystallization
The syrup from the evaporator unit is filtered (13) and fed into steamheated pans (14) where the crystallisation process is continued until crystals are formed. This is done under vacuum and at a low temperature (70 to 75°C) in order to avoid decomposition (colouring) of the sugar. As soon as the crystals have reached their proper size, the massecuite is discharged into open containers with stirring devices (15) for cooling down and further crystallisation.

1.5 Centrifuging
In the next step the viscous syrup is separated from the sugar crystals in centrifuges (16). Whereas the sugar crystals remain in the screening drum, the syrup is centrifuged through the holes of the drum and retained by the container wall. The white sugar so obtained is dried in heated drums (17) and stored in large silos (18). By dissolving, purifying, filtering and further
crystallisation, refined sugar is obtained, which is much purer than white sugar and thus of higher quality. The separated syrup undergoes two further crystallisation processes (raw sugar, afterproduct). From the runoff syrup, called molasses, no further sugar can be crystallised. It is used in the food industry, for manufacturing yeast and alcohol, and as fodder after being added to beet pulp.

Flow Chart of Sugar Process Factory


Losses and loss prevention

The following circumstances are characteristic of the losses occurring in
sugar factories:

– Heavy load on all technical facilities during the campaign
– Sometimes inadequate maintenance during the standstill period

Adequate maintenance of the plant during the standstill period is of particular
importance. Steam generators, turbines, generators, transformers,
electric motors and gears must be carefully checked during that
time and, if necessary, overhauled and preserved. Only in this way can
dangerous changes or emerging damage be recognised early enough to
be remedied.


Utilities

The piping of steam generators is often damaged due to

– lack of water following a failure of feed water pumps or measuring
and control systems;
– inadequate water treatment (boiler scale, sludge deposits);
– sugar penetrating into the boiler feed water.

Steam turbines are above all exposed to shaft failures, blade damage,
interruptions in the oil supply, overspeed due to a failure of the control
and trip devices. The drive turbines of sugar cane mills must in addition
withstand thrusts and starts under full load, leading to blade damage,
damage to bearings and broken shafts.

Damage to gears, in particular to the reducing gears of sugar cane mills,
is caused by load thrusts, starting under full load, inadequate lubrication,
entry of foreign particles and misalignments due to faulty setting,
resulting in broken teeth, pitting, broken shafts and damage to bearings.

Making Techniques Oil Palms

Coconut oil is the oil produced from coconut meat. In general, oil production is divided into 3 types namely:

1. Drying process.

2. Wetting process, divided into a few of them is fishing methods, pickling, mechanical, enzimatk and salinity.

3. Extraction solvents

How to dry

Method of producing coconut oil with a dry way first made the coconut meat in the form of copra. To be made in the form of copra, the coconut meat is made into dried by hanging in the hot sun or drying through the oven. Drying with drying coconut meat is highly dependent on weather conditions, so that drying will be better when in the summer. And when drying conducted in the rainy season, the drying process may take longer. A long time in the drying process will greatly disrupt the quality of copra is produced due to biological processes.

For the drying process by using an oven is quicker drying than way through drying in the sun. By using an oven drying will cost greater operational.

The manufacturing steps of coconut oil with a dry way is as follows (www.warintek.ristek.go.id)

1. Copra chopped, and then crushed into coarse powder.

2. Copra powder is heated, then pressed so that the oil issue. The resulting residue still contains oil. It is grinded until finely ground, then heated and pressed to remove the oil.

3. Oil deposited collected and filtered.

4. Oil filtering results given the following treatment:

• Additional compounds alkali (KOH or NaOH) for neutralization (removing free fatty acids).

• The addition of absorbent material (absorbent) color, usually using activated charcoal to produce clear oil and clean.

• flow hot water vapor into the oil to vaporize and remove compounds that cause undesirable odor.

5 Oil has a clean, clear, and odorless packaged in tin boxes, plastic bottles or glass bottles.

How to Wet

Initial step producing coconut oil in a way that is moist coconut meat is formed into coconut milk. The process of making coconut milk is the most important stages in the manufacture of oil. To be able to make more oil then the type of selected coconut oil is a middle-aged and old coconut.

Coconut milk itself is an emulsion of oil in water (M / A), where the role of the media disperse is water and oil phase is disperse. Globula-globula in coconut oil is surrounded by a thin layer of protein and fosfolida. Protein layer surrounding the oil droplets dispersed in the water. To be able to produce the protein coating of oil so it needs to be broken so that the oil droplets will merge into the oil. So, in principle, producing coconut oil or moist way through a solution coconut milk emulsions systems through protein denaturation. The way this can be done wet chemical, mechanical, thermal, biological / enzymatic

The technique of making thermal oil also called warm-up techniques. To make coconut oil by heating simple enough, that is just warming up the milk that has been made. The purpose of warming is to remove the water content contained in the coconut milk. Generally, the oil produced by this warming brass-colored straw. Blondo obtained from coconut oil processing by heating a dark brown color. Such techniques are usually owned by the processing industry in the household scale.

Salting methods

Salting methods performed with the aim of solving the system emulsion of coconut milk with protein solubility settings in the salt.

Protein contained in the milk will dissolve with the addition of salt (salting in), but in certain conditions the solubility of the salt will fall in line with the increased concentration of salt. With the decrease in the level of protein solubility followed by binding of water molecules by salt, which then also there is a separation between the liquid oil with water (salting out).

Palm oil production a method by salting is done by adding a solution of salt valence is 2 for example CaCl2. The 2H2O salt coconut cream that has been obtained from the early stages of oil production. Salt is used as a destroyer of emulsion stability. The stages are performed in the manufacture of coconut oil by the method of salinity (salt is used as CaCl2.2H2O).

1. Ca salt is added into the milk and stirred with a magnetic stirrer to a mixture of salt and coconut milk becomes homogeneous.

2. Mixture of salt with the coconut milk and aged less than 12 hours to get 3 layers of water that is the bottom, blondo in the middle, and oil is at the top layer.

3. The oil is separated, while blondo disentrifugasi to remove oil that is still bound blondo.

Pickling method

Destruction of proteins or protein denaturation to be able to get the coconut oil can be done by pickling. In principle this technique is a method of pickling protein denaturation due to the formation of the zwitter ion electronic iso conditions. Zwiter molecular ions formed due to have the opposite charge-enter the respective ends. In the protein it actually contains more NH2 groups charged carboxylate groups posotif and negative charged. In order to achieve this electronic iso conditions, the milk is made in acidic conditions. Usually a pH setting for iso electrical conditions at pH 4.5 is done with the addition of acetic acid (CH3COOH) or vinegar is often known as the food.

By way of pickling will be formed of three layers as well, where is the oil layer on top, then the middle layer of protein and lower layer is water. The oils obtained from the way the color will clear pickling.

Fishing methods

How to fishing in the manufacture of coconut oil is a solution coconut emulsion system by adjusting the surface tension increases. In order to lure out of the oil emulsion system used bait in the form of oil, too. The use of bait will greatly affect the outcome of the oil quality. If the bait used is oil with good quality, it will obtain good quality oil too, but on the other hand, if oil is used as bait are not good quality then the results obtained oil was also not very good quality.

Enzymatic techniques

Technique is a method for enzymatic protein denaturation with the help of enzymes. Several types of enzymes that can be used in this process are papain, bromelain, poligalakturonase, alpha amylase, protease, or pektinase. A coconut oil production stage by this enzyme is produced by making coconut milk from the blackmail using coconut water. The purpose of the use of coconut water is to accelerate the clotting process. And then add with coconut milk enzyme to be used for the fermentation process by silenced for one night. The next day is the separation between the proteins of coconut oil or blondo.

Cooling techniques

Cooling method is based on the difference between the freezing point freezing point of water and oil. Freezing point of oil is in the range of 15 oC, while water has a freezing point at 0 oC, therefore the use of this cooling technique will freeze oil than water first. Or with other rich oil will start to clot more and more components can be separated by water.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical techniques performed with the intention of damaging proteins and water surrounding the oil droplets. The way is to put milk into a mixer or mixing occurs. With constant stirring the water molecules and protein molecules can be damaged which eventually drops of oil can get out.

Microwave techniques

The use of microwaves in the manufacture of coconut oil is meant to damage the protein structure because of the combination of polar orientation of molecules (protein and water) emulsion thermal author. Because of damage so the oil components will out from the emulsion system.

How to Solvent Extraction

To make the oil by solvent extraction, coconut meat is also made in the form of copra. The principle of this method is to use a solvent that can dissolve the oil. The characteristics of the solvent used for the extraction of coconut oil dotted among low boiling, volatile, does not interact chemically with the oil and non-toxic residue. The sequence of coconut oil extraction process using a solvent that is:

1. Copra chopped, and then crushed into powder.

2. Copra powder placed on the extraction, while the solvent evaporation chamber. And then heat to evaporate the solvent. Solvent vapor will rise to the condensation. Condensate (steam melting solvent) will flow into the extraction and copra powder dissolves fat. If the space has been filled with extraction solvent, solvent containing the oil will flow (fall) by itself to the evaporation of the original.

3. in the evaporation, the oil-containing solvent to evaporate, while oil stays in the evaporation space. The process continues until 3 hours.

4. Oil-containing solvent is evaporated. Steam is condensed in the condensate is not returned again to the evaporation, but are drawn to the shelter of the solvent. These solvents can be used again for the extraction. Evaporation is done until there is no longer estimated residual solvent in the oil.

5. Furthermore, the oil can be treated neutralization, bleaching and removal of odor.

Although this method is quite simple, but rarely used because the cost is relatively expensive.