Formation of aminium lactates in lactic acid fermentation preparation and characterization of 1,4,-piperazinium-(L,L)-dilactate obtained from L(+)-lactic acid (Part I)

The potential for the production of 1,4-piperazinium-(L,L)-dilactate from L(+)-lactic acid preparations obtained by fermentation was studied. Piperazinium dilactate was found to be a very suitable source material for poly(lactic acid) production. In a novel polymerization process, the intermediate dilactide was directly formed in the salt melt at a moderate temperature. High-performance cultivation of Lactobacillus paracasei on a glucose-MRS medium was carried out using high-viability inocula. After the cell mass had been removed from the fermentation broth by centrifugation and/or ultrafiltration, the lactic acid solution was concentrated to 45% [w/w] by a two-stage electrodialysis process. Two methods of preparing 1,4-piperazinium dilactate were developed: the first from the medium-concentrated lactic acid (45%) and the second from a highly-concentrated lactic acid (85%) obtained by evaporation from the first one. Because there were no physical data on 1,4-piperazinium-(L,L)-dilactate in specialized literature, the pure product was characterized according to its solubility characteristics, melting point and spectroscopic analysis.