Benzylpenicillin is produced by fermentation of Penicillium chrysogenum. The production of benzylpenicillin involves fermentation, recovery and purification of the penicillin.
The fermentation process of the production of benzylpenicillin creates the product. The presence of the product in solution inhibits the reaction and reduces the product rate and yield. Thus, in order to obtain the most product and increase the rate of reaction, it is continuously extracted. This is done by mixing the mold with either glucose, sucrose, lactose, starch, or dextrin, nitrate, ammonium salt, corn steep liquor, peptone, meat or yeast extract, and small amounts of inorganic salts.
The recovery of the benzylpenicillin is the most important part of the production process because it affects the later purification steps if done incorrectly. There are several techniques used to recover benzylpenicillin: aqueous two-phase extraction, liquid membrane extraction, microfiltration, and solvent extraction. Extraction is more commonly used in the recovery process.
In the purification step, the benzylpenicillin is separated from the extraction solution. This is normally done by using a separation column.