nitrile hydratase

The production of acrylamide monomer uses acrylonitrile as the raw material. Under the action of a catalyst, it undergoes hydration to form a crude acrylamide monomer product. After flash evaporation and purification, refined acrylamide monomer is obtained, which serves as the raw material for polyacrylamide production.

Acrylonitrile + (Water/Catalyst) → Hydration → Crude Acrylamide → Flash Evaporation → Purification → Refined Acrylamide.

Based on the historical development of catalysts, acrylamide monomer production technology has gone through three generations:

The first generation used sulfuric acid-catalyzed hydration technology. The drawbacks of this technology include low acrylonitrile conversion rate, low yield of acrylamide product, numerous by-products, which impose a significant burden on purification. Additionally, the strong corrosiveness of the catalyst sulfuric acid increases equipment costs and raises production expenses.

The second generation employed binary or ternary skeleton copper catalytic production technology. The disadvantage of this method is the introduction of metal copper ions into the final product, which affect polymerization, thereby increasing the cost of post-treatment purification.

The third generation utilizes microbial nitrile hydratase catalytic production technology. This technology operates under mild conditions at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, featuring high selectivity, high yield, and high activity. The conversion rate of acrylonitrile can reach 100%, with complete reaction and no by-products or impurities. The acrylamide product contains no metal copper ions, eliminating the need for ion exchange to remove copper ions generated during production, thus simplifying the process. Furthermore, gas chromatography analysis shows that the acrylamide product contains almost no free acrylonitrile, ensuring high purity. It is particularly suitable for producing ultra-high molecular weight polyacrylamide and non-toxic polyacrylamide for the food industry.

Wuxi Zhiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. collaborates with foreign universities, adopting advanced fermentation technologies from institutions like Stanford University to produce biological catalysts (nitrile hydratase WX-20) for the microbial production of acrylamide. Our product offers the following advantages:

(1) Wuxi Zhiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.'s products are domestically produced, ensuring reliable supply, safety, stability, and fast delivery.

(2) The enzymatic catalytic reaction occurs at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, enhancing production safety.

(3) The conversion rate of acrylonitrile is close to 100%, eliminating the need to recover unreacted acrylonitrile raw material.

(4) Directly produces acrylamide with 50% concentration, eliminating the need for a concentration process, simplifying production, increasing output, reducing energy consumption, and lowering production costs.

(5) Wuxi Zhiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.'s biological catalyst WX-20 can be used directly without requiring in-house fermentation by the factory. The production process is simple, with high purity of the acrylamide product, few by-products, minimal catalyst residue, and no impurities.

(6) Wuxi Zhiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.'s biological catalyst WX-20 and imported Japanese products are fermented using the same series of bacterial strains, ensuring identical quality and interchangeability. Moreover, our production facility is domestic, providing reliable, safe, and fast delivery with competitive usage costs.