Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) is expanding its capacity to produce MetAMINO (DL-methionine) on Jurong Island, Singapore, by 40,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) to around 340,000 m.t./yr. The high double-digit million euro investment in this further technological development is to reach target capacity by the third quarter of 2024. The planned process optimization measures will improve the carbon footprint of MetAMIN produced in Singapore by six percent.
“Increasing capacity for MetAMINO production in Singapore is another important step in the consistent implementation of our global methionine asset strategy, further improving supply security for our customers in Asia,” says Dr. Gaetano Blanda, head of Animal Nutrition business line. “In the face of fragile supply chains, our strategy of producing MetAMINO® in three different regions of the world has proven its value to our customers.”
At the core of the methionine strategy are the three production hubs in Singapore, Mobile (Alabama, USA) and Antwerp (Belgium). All three of Evonik’s world-scale plants are based on best-in-class technologies and are designed to grow with the expanding global market through modular expansions.
Evonik’s methionine plants in Singapore, which came on stream in 2014 and 2019, were already the largest production complex for DL-methionine in the world, with an annual capacity of around 300,000 metric tons of MetAMINO. “The additional capacity of 40,000 metric tons is primarily intended to accompany the growth of our customers in Asia and continue to offer the highest product quality and security of supply – now even more sustainably,” says Noel Kim, head of Region Asia for Evonik Animal Nutrition.
The company has succeeded in maintaining its technology and cost leadership in DL-methionine for decades by continuously optimizing its processes and equipment: “We are particularly proud of the highly innovative new processes that are now being implemented in Singapore”, says Dr. Jan-Olaf Barth, head of Evonik’s Essential Nutrition product line. “For example, we are taking another major step toward process efficiency and reducing our carbon footprint by implementing an electrolysis unit for green hydrogen supply and various energy integration measures.”
These technological adjustments are an important building block in the sustainability strategy of the Nutrition & Care division. The carbon footprint of the additional volume will be reduced by 50 percent thanks to process improvement measures. This reduces the carbon footprint of the entire MetAMINO® production in Singapore by six percent.
In the United States, a new plant for methyl mercaptan production is currently being built at the methionine hub in Mobile, further strengthening Evonik’s ability to offer reliable and cost-optimized supply and reducing the carbon footprint of DL-methionine from this site by about seven percent. Having a fully integrated ‘Verbund’ means Evonik will be able to produce all the necessary precursors for DL-methionine on site in 2024, as it already does at its other hubs. Additionally, in 2022, Evonik further developed and expanded the production facility for MMP (methylmercapto-propionaldehyde) in Wesseling (Germany), reinforcing the European methionine hub in Antwerp (Belgium).
Methionine is used in livestock production to feed animals healthily, efficiently, and sustainably. With its science-based approach, the Animal Nutrition business line develops products, services and system solutions that help supply a growing world population with healthy, high-quality and affordable animal protein. Animal Nutrition is part of Evonik’s Nutrition & Care Division and makes a major contribution to the profitable growth of Nutrition & Care through its self-financing power.