Process for electrochemical separation of enantiomers of an amino acid from a racemic mixture

A process for separating the enantiomers of an amino acid, selected from methionine, from a racemic mixture of said amino acid, said process comprising the following steps:

• i mixing 0.01 molar solution of the racemic amino acid with 1 molar solution of lithium perchlorate to form a first electrolyte;
• ii electrolyzing, using a saw-tooth current, the first electrolyte in an electrochemical cell in which the working electrode has a polycrystalline metal surface configured to adsorb the L-enantiomer of said amino acid and retaining the D-enantiomer in the first electrolyte;
• iii draining the first electrolyte containing D-enantiomer from said cell;
• iv separating the D-enantiomer from the first electrolyte;
• v re-filling the drained cell having the working electrode with the adsorbed L-enantiomer with a second electrolyte containing sodium chloride;
• vi reversing the polarity of the saw-tooth current fed to the cell to de-adsorb the L-enantiomer from said working electrode into said second electrolyte;
• vii draining said second electrolyte having the L-enantiomer dissolved therein;
• and
• viii separating the L-enantiomer from said second electrolyte.