Taurine, 2-aminoethane-1-sulfonic acid, is a commercial amino acid manufactured from either ethylene oxide or monoethanolamine (MEA). Taurine is a valuable nutritional additive that is widely used in the production of energy drinks, pet food, nutritional supplements, and infant formula. The industrial production of taurine from MEA is a two-step batch process in which the first step is the reaction of MEA with sulfuric acid to produce the ester 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate (AES) and the second step is the reaction of AES with a sulfite reagent. We did a study of the fundamental chemistry for this two-step MEA-based chemical route to taurine. To maximize taurine yields, the water formed during the first esterification step must be effectively removed to avoid equilibrium limitations on the conversions of MEA and sulfuric acid to form the solid AES intermediate product. For the second AES sulfonation step in aqueous medium, we found that under a moderate pressure of an inert gas resulted in significantly higher taurine yields thorough Aziridine intermediate, based on NMR study. By fundamentally understanding the reaction process, we increased the yield 10-15% overall by understanding water removing in the first and inert gas in the second steps, respectively.

Process for the production of taurine from monoethanolamine

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