Preparation of a lysinate compound from an aqueous lysine solution

A process for preparing a monolysinate compound, which comprises:

• providing lysine to a metal container via an aqueous lysine solution having a lysine content of at least 30% by weight of the aqueous lysine solution and which is substantially free of chlorides and Cl-ions;
• dissolving a metal salt in the aqueous lysine solution in a molar ratio of 1 mol of a metal atom of the metal salt to 1 mol of the lysine to produce a liquid reaction mixture such that corrosive effects originating from an interaction of the chlorides and the Cl-ions and the metal container are mitigated against and such that impurities resulting from the corrosive effects are mitigated against, the metal atom of the metal salt including Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Co2+, Na+ or Ni2+, wherein the aqueous lysine solution and the liquid reaction mixture:
• are free of further organic acids if the metal salt is not an iron salt;
• and/or
• contain an organic acid if the metal salt is the iron salt;
• reacting the lysine and the metal salt dissolved in the liquid reaction mixture to form the monolysinate compound such that exactly one lysine molecule is bonded to exactly one metal atom of the metal salt via an ionic bond;
• and
• drying the liquid reaction mixture in order to obtain monolysinate powder particles including the monolysinate compound, the drying including spray drying the monolysinate compound such that a majority of the monolysinate powder particles have a diameter between 80 microns to 100 microns.