Process for the production of taurine from ethanol
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US · United States
- Patent Type
- Applications(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- VITAWORKS IP LLC
- Publication Date
- 2015-07-30
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Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates generally to taurine and more particularly to a process for the production of taurine from ethionic acid and ethanol by way of ethanol-derived ethionic acid.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Taurine can be referred to as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid and is one of the amino sulfonic acids found in the tissues of many animals. Taurine is an extremely useful compound because it has such pharmacological effects as detoxification effect, fatigue-relieving effect and nourishing and tonifying effect. As a result, taurine finds wide applications as an essential ingredient for human and animal nutrition.
[0003] Taurine is currently produced in an amount of over 50,000 tons per year from ethylene oxide and monoethanolamine, both of which are petroleum derived chemicals. In addition to their ever increasing cost, these two starting materials are toxic and for ethylene oxide difficult to handle. An alternate process for producing taurine from non-petroleum...