The hydrothermal reaction kinetics of aspartic acid

Experimental data on the hydrothermal reaction kinetics of aspartic acid were acquired using a custom-built spectrophotometric reaction cell which permits in situ observation under hydrothermal conditions. The results of this study indicate that the reaction kinetics of dilute aspartic acid solutions are significantly different depending on the presence or absence of catalytic surfaces such as standard metal alloys. The spectroscopic data presented here represent the first direct observations, in situ and in real time, of an amino acid reacting in a hydrothermal solution. Quantitative kinetic information, including rate constants, concentration versus time profiles, and calculations of the individual component spectra, was obtained from the data using a chemometric approach based on factor analysis/principle component analysis which treats the rate expressions simultaneously as a system of differential algebraic equations (DAE) of index 1. Identification of the products was confirmed where possible by high pressure anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD). The reaction kinetics of aspartic acid under hydrothermal conditions was observed to be highly complex, in contrast to previous studies which indicated almost exclusively deamination. At lower temperatures (120–170 °C), several different reaction pathways were observed, including decarboxylation and polymerization, and the catalytic effects of reactor surfaces on the aspartic acid system were clearly demonstrated. At higher temperatures (above 170 °C), aspartic acid exhibited highly complex behaviour, with evidence indicating that it can simultaneously dimerize and cyclize, deaminate (by up to two pathways), and decarboxylate (by up to two pathways). These higher temperature kinetics were not fully resolvable in a quantitative manner due to the complexity of the system and the constraints of UV spectroscopy. The results of this study provide strong evidence that the reaction kinetics of aspartic acid are very sensitive to parameters such as temperature, reactor materials (i.e., reactive surfaces), and additives, and that previous observations on aspartic acid were specific to the choice of experimental conditions.