The synthesis of glutamic acid from propane

Proteins have been known for years as the most important constituent of living matter. Their great abundance in all forms of life have made them the subject of chemical and alchemical investigations since the dawn of science. It was found during the nineteenth century, however, that these relatively complex protein polymers could be decomposed by various means to form their monomers- the amino acids. This process, in fact, takes place during the digestion and ingestion of proteins as food matter. Today, the most important use of the amino acids is as a food. With the scarcity of food so prevalent throughout the world today, it would seem desirable to devise a means of synthesizing a foodstuff from ordinarily non-edible material. Glutamic acid, one of the more common amino acids, occurs to a large extent in any agricultural products, principally core, soy-beans and beet-sugar waste. In addition to its use as a food, the sodium salt of this compound-monosodium glutamate- is very widely used as a flavoring. Moreover, the pure acid has been found recently to have brain stimulating properties and to increase the intelligence of persons taking it medicinally. There are many methods known for the synthesis of this compound. But their disadvantage is that the starting materials are themselves often uncommon and costly items. It was thought from a study of the structure of the acid, that the glutamic acid molecule could be built up from relatively simple materials, since it is only a combination of carbon, water and ammonia. One of the most practical methods devised was first, the production of glutaric acid from propane, via chlorination, followed by the amination of glutaric acid to form the amino acid - glutamic acid. The purpose of this thesis, therefore, was to develop a practical method for the synthesis of glutamic acid, starting with propane, and through the processes of chlorination, nitrilization, hydrolysis and amination, producing this acid. It was further proposed to design a pilot plant for the further carrying out of this work.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Chemical Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Year dc:date.issued

1948

Author dc:creator

• Serling, Robert S.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52154

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/52154