Amino acids (lysine, methionine): Production route
Fermented from maize or built from gas: two very different industries
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.The family splits by chemistry. Lysine, threonine, tryptophan, valine and isoleucine are fermented from glucose by engineered bacteria, so they are crop products and China's maize belt dominates. Methionine is mainly a petrochemical product made by a few large plants of Evonik, Adisseo, Novus, NHU and Sumitomo, needing hydrogen cyanide and methyl mercaptan, which favours integrated chemical sites. A fermentation route to L-methionine exists at small scale (CJ with Arkema, indicative). The key cost levers are maize price and fermentation yield for lysine, and propylene, gas and scale for methionine.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lysine fermentation (lysine HCl 98% and lysine sulphate 70%) | all lysine; China about 76% of capacity (2023) | about 2-2.2 t maize (as glucose) and ammonia per t lysine HCl (indicative) | lines of 100-600 kt/yr; Meihua Baicheng 600 kt (Q4 2025 trial) | about 0.5-0.6 t lysine HCl per t glucose (indicative) | fermentation biomass sold as feed | top Chinese cash cost about RMB 6,800-7,000/t (2024), about $950/t at RMB 7.2 per $ (indicative) |
| Threonine, tryptophan and valine fermentation | China 93% of threonine capacity (2023), 41.4% of tryptophan, over 70% of valine (2024) | glucose and ammonia (not published) | threonine about 1.08 Mt capacity in China (end-2024) | not published | biomass | threonine RMB 10,800-13,500/t (2024) |
| DL-methionine chemical synthesis (hydantoin route) | most methionine (indicative) | propylene, methanol, H2S or sulphur, natural gas and ammonia (quantities not published) | single complexes of 150-300 kt/yr; Adisseo Quanzhou 150 kt solid methionine due 2027 | not published | sodium sulphate or ammonium sulphate depending on route (indicative) | regular feed methionine RMB 20,000-25,000/t (2024), about $2,800-3,500/t |
| Methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA, liquid 88%) | a large share of methionine sales (not published) | similar petrochemical inputs | 100-300 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | not material | priced on bio-efficacy against DL-methionine (indicative) |
| Fermentation-based L-methionine | small (indicative) | sugar plus sulphur source | about 80 kt/yr (indicative) | not published | biomass | not published |
How each route works
Lysine fermentation (lysine HCl 98% and lysine sulphate 70%)Engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum converts glucose and ammonia to L-lysine in large aerobic fermenters. The broth is either purified to crystals (HCl) or spray-dried with biomass (sulphate), which needs less processing.
Low cost at scale; prone to Chinese oversupply.
Faxian Gongchang 2026; yields indicative Threonine, tryptophan and valine fermentationE. coli or Corynebacterium strains make the next limiting amino acids, used to cut crude protein further in pig and poultry diets.
Smaller markets; more volatile prices.
Faxian Gongchang 2026 DL-methionine chemical synthesis (hydantoin route)Propylene is oxidised to acrolein, which reacts with methyl mercaptan (from methanol and hydrogen sulphide) and then with hydrogen cyanide (from natural gas and ammonia) via hydantoin to DL-methionine. Animals use both D and L forms.
Needs HCN and integrated sites; few players.
Faxian Gongchang 2026 (prices); Faxian vitamin report (Adisseo); indicative Methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA, liquid 88%)A liquid form made from the same acrolein and HCN chemistry without the hydantoin step, sold by Novus and Adisseo for liquid dosing in feed mills.
Easy dosing; debate over relative efficacy.
indicative Fermentation-based L-methionineEngineered microbes produce L-methionine or a precursor from sugar, combined with chemical steps (CJ and Arkema in Malaysia, indicative).
Avoids HCN; not yet cheaper.
indicative Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.