Fermentation Forward: To Bring Any New Commercial Yeast, Enzyme or Additive Product to the Ethanol Industry, IFF Completes Years of Research

by Luke Geiver (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... The size of the actual yeast strains used in any given plant may be micrometers small, but the amount of time and resources that go into proving out and producing strains capable of helping ethanol producers operating in fluctuating market conditions is huge.

When on site, IFF scientists ensure all lab data matches real-world plant conditions. They track the viability of their yeast cells over time, comparing parameters in a plant’s lab and their own.

The customized approach to yeast blends has worked because it is hard to achieve desired numbers for rate, titer and robustness in a single batch. A single yeast can struggle to achieve all three, she (Caroline Peres, principal scientist for IFF) says, because the conditions in modern fermentation can include high temperatures, stress from organic acids, the presence of dry solids and high ethanol titers.

Ethanol plants are diversifying in different ways to make different products, a factor the research team always has to consider. Even regional corn differences can change the effectiveness of a yeast product, which is another reason Peres believes in the collection approach to yeast offerings. Plants today run their operations at different rates for different reasons. Some choose high yields over efficiency, while others need the right balance to maintain the kind of bottom line a board, investor group or leadership team requires, Peres says.

An advanced yeast breeding program helps the IFF research team find results or the “diamond in the rough,” says Larry Anthony, R&D technical manager for Grain Processing at IFF.

Minimizing certain byproducts during fermentation is an important part of ethanol yield maximization. Peres is currently pushing her team to look at options that further reduce the production of glycerol or CO2, or that can better tolerate the presence of high glucose.

To optimize current yeast offerings or develop the next version, Peres and her team utilize advanced resources in labs across the world, insight from artificial intelligence, and yes, even robots.

Next Great Yeast Collection
Peres performs her research out of Palo Alto, California. Other team members work in Wilmington, Delaware. In the Midwest, a lab in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, helps clients directly in the heart of North American ethanol production. The lab in the Netherlands is equipped with robotics.

To help clarify how modern technology helps leading-edge researchers, Peres says to think of a normal lab first. Within a normal lab setting, a single human researcher can only prepare one test plate containing only a handful of yeast colonies for review and testing. Using the robotic setup in the Netherlands, IFF’s team can easily screen 50 plates at once (each plate with roughly 96 yeast colonies). The system allows IFF to screen millions of colonies to find the best options for further research and development.

In addition to the mechanical technology, the team utilizes an array of screening conditions and growing techniques to bring new yeasts to market.

In addition to yeast products, IFF’s biofuels team provides innovative options for liquefaction, saccharification and fermentation and accessories. Optimash F200 and Optimash AX enzymatic solution for liquefaction helps to optimize corn-oil production while reducing the amount of oil lost to wet cake.

Part of IFF’s success, in terms of both research and the commercial application of its products, stems from AI. Using its trademarked Xcelis AI system, researchers can predict certain outcomes before they happen. IFF calls it the “crystal ball,” helping producers make future decisions. Peres’ team uses the system as a complement to check on testing parameters and results.

At the plant level, IFF customers can use the system to ask questions. Given the right question, the AI platform will predict changes in operational performance, fermentation and more based on pre-established baselines. If a producer wants to know how changing a yeast or enzyme combination might impact fermentation results, the AI system—built on custom IFF software—can provide insight.

Although current yeast strains are very good, much of the focus will be on reducing side products, diversifying strains and increasing rate. IFF has evolved Xcelis AI to better understand the carbon intensity (CI) of its products and the impact on the ethanol plant to help customers meet their CI goals. The team’s work with natural and GMO options will only expand. READ MORE