Fractionation of amino acid mixtures

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR THE SEPARATION OF AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION MIXTURE OF AMINO ACIDS SUCH AS A PROTEIN HYDROLYSATE INTO GROUPS OF ACIDIC-, NEUTRAL-, AND BASIC-AMINO ACIDS RESPECTIVELY BY TREATMENT WITH ION EXCHANGE MATERIAL, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE MIXTURE IS PASSED THROUGH A BED OF ACID-REGENERATED CATION EXCHANGE MATERIAL FOR ABSORBING THEREON THE AMINO ACIDS INDISCRIMINATELY WHILE IMPURITY ANIONS PASS IN THE EFFUENT FROM THE BED, SELECTIVELY, UNLOADING THE ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS BY DISPLACING THEM FROM THEIR COMBINATION WITH THE EXCHANGE MATERIAL BY PASSING THROUGH THE BED AN UNLOADING SOLUTION COMPRISING AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE AS A BASE TO EFFECT CONVERTING THE ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS BUT SUBSTANTIALLY NOT THE MORE STRONGLY HELD BASIC AMINO ACIDS INTO NONCATIONIC FORM IN WHICH THEY ARE ELUTED FROM THE EXCHANGE MATERIAL WHEREBY THE MATERIAL IS LEFT CONTAINING BASICAMINO ACIDS ALONG WITH NH4+-CATIONS WHILE THE ACIDICS AND NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS ARE ABTAINED IN THE EFFLUENT AS DISPLACED FREE AMINO ACIDS, MEANWHILE COLLECTING THE RESULTING EFFUENT SOLUTION IN A FIRST FRACTION UP TO A POINT DEFINED SUBSTANTIALLY BY A POINT OF ABRUPT INCREASE IN THE PHCHANGE OF THE EFFUENT SOLUTION, SAID FRACTION CONTAINING ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS SUBSTANTIALLY PURE, NAMELY UNCONTAMINATED BY NH4+ CATIONS, AND IN A SECOND FRACTION CONTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY THE REMAINDER OF THE ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS ALTHOUGH CONTAMINATED BY NH4+-CATIONS FROM THE UNLOADING SOLUTION AND ALSO MIXED WITH A MINOR QUANTITY OF THE BASICAMINO ACIDS DISPLACED BY THE UNLOADING SOLUTION WHILE A MAJOR QUANTITY THEREOF REMAINS ON THE BED, THEN PASSING THROUGH THE BED A STRIPPING SOLUTION COMPRISING AS STRIPPING REAGENT A SALT OF A GROUP CONSISTING OF AMMONIUM CARBONATE AND BICARBONATE PROVIDING A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF AMMONIUM CATIONS AS DISTINCT FROM THE BASE AMMONIA WHICH IS NOT HIGHLY IONIZED IN SOLUTION FOR EFFECTING IONIC EXCHANGE AS BETWEEN THE AMMONIUM CATIONS AND THE CATIONIC BASIC-AMINO ACIDS ON THE BED WHEREBY THERE RESULT IN THE EFFUENT THE BASIC-AMINO ACIDS AS SALTS TOGETHER WITH VOLATILE MOLECULES OF EXCESS STRIPPING REAGENT, SUCH STRIPPING REAGENT GEING SEPARABLE FROM THE BASICAMINO ACID SALTS BY VOLATILIZATION, AND EMPLOYING SAID SECOND FRACTION IN ADDITION TO SAID UNLOAD ING SOLUTION IN A SUBSEQUENT UNLOADING OPERATION WHEREBY ACIDIC NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS, IN SAID FRACTION ARE RECOVERED WHILE NH4+ AS WELL AS THE BASIC AMINO THEREIN ACT AS UNLOADING AGENTS.