A novel manufacturing process for the Net-Zero separation and purification of biobased cadaverine for sustainable fashion application

In recent years, the energy crisis has become increasingly serious. Global warming and the shortage of fossil resources has driven the quest for a new bio-economy. Cadaverine is a bio-based platform chemical that plays an indispensable role in industry, medicine and agriculture.

In particular, cadaverine is an important polymer monomer for polyamides and polyurethanes. Due to the similar structure of cadaverine and 1,6-diaminohexane, cadaverine can replace 1,6-diaminohexane to synthesize bio-based polyamide materials such as nylon 54, nylon 56, nylon 510 and nylon 512\. Compared to traditional nylons, the new nylons made from cadaverine have a lower density, better dimensional stability and other superior properties.

For example, nylon56 has a significant advantage in producing textile fibres owing to its low glass transition temperature and high water absorption. The low glass transition temperature enables nylon 56 fiber to perform well in alpine regions\[1\], and greatly improves the low-temperature resistance of the material. The high absorption rate gives nylon 56fiber good moisture-wicking performance, significantly improving wearing comfort and reducing static electricity.

In addition, nylon 56 has excellent strength, fastness and wear resistance, which increases the service life of clothes.

In this project, we aim to take this project from TRL 4 to 6\. We aim to reduce the cost of the energy-intensive product separation and purification process, which counts for \>50% of the final cadaverine price. The utilization of L-lysine hydrochloride as a substrate for the production of high-purity cadaverine will be investigated by a litre-scale integrated strategy incorporating fermentation, bioproduction, deprotonation, extraction and rectification.

Based on the experimental achievement on the integrated process for the production of high-purity cadaverine from lysine decarboxylase, we confirm the lab scale feasibility of a low-cost cadaverine production, which is ready for industrial-scale implementation. To scale up the production, we're aiming to achieve a 99% purity of cadaverine separation, which will offer a large potential profit margin.

The price of the as-produced cadaverine is estimated to be 7 times cheaper compared to the commercially available cadaverine. We'll focus on taking this lab-scale production and theoretical simulation to an economically feasible industrial production. Most importantly, we will adopt novel digital modelling and artificial intelligence techniques developed at the University of Manchester to accelerate design and optimisation of the underlying bioprocess, so that we can further improve the sustainability and economic viability of the new bio-material manufacturing technology.