Evonik will build a plant in Antwerp, Belgium, for the production of a new source of methionine, Aquavi Met-Met. This is specially developed to feed shrimp and other crustaceans in aquacultures. The plant is scheduled to commence operation in late 2015.

Aquavi Met-Met is a dipeptide of two DL-methionine molecules. It is less water soluble than the individual molecules and, therefore, does not wash out of the feed as quickly. The shrimp take in Aquavi Met-Met and break it back down into the individual molecules during the digestive process. By this, DL-methionine and the rest of the nutrients in the feed are all available to the organism at the same time. Evonik says that only 0.5 kg of Aquavi Met-Met is required to achieve the same growth per 1,000 kg of shrimp feed as with 0.9 kg of DL-methionine. One Met-Met molecule, therefore, is just as effective as 3.6 molecules of DL-methionine.
Consequently, Aquavi Met-Met significantly reduces the consumption of fish meal in shrimp aquaculture. This makes it an important contribution to the sustainability of aquacultures and it helps water purity by reducing the amount of waste produced by the animals through an optimal supply of methionine.

According to Evonik estimates, the production of shrimp and crustaceans in aquaculture will rise to seven million metric tons in 2015 creating a turnover of approximately EUR 50 billion. They see their largest customers for Aquavi Met-Met predominantly located in Asia, Thailand and China in particular, but also in South and Central America as well as Mexico.

Evonik is the only company that produces and markets the four most important essential amino acids for modern animal nutrition: MetAmino (DL-methionine), Biolys (L-lysine source), ThreAmino (L-threonine), and TrypAmino (L-tryptophan).

• Evonik Industries AG, Essen, Germany