Advanced BioFuels USA

by Katie Schroeder (Ethanol Producer Magazine) In recent years, many ethanol producers have started migrating toward a more diversified biorefining model as they adapt to changing markets and changing times. The enzymes industry has not only kept pace with this evolution, but helped create it, enabling producers to maximize output, boost distillers corn oil yield, tap into cellulosic ethanol and more.

Novozymes is a provider of yeast and enzymes for the ethanol industry, developing enzymes for liquefaction and saccharification, explains Robert Osborne, R&D manager and leader of the yeast application research and development team. For cellulosic ethanol release, Novozymes has primarily developed and offers cellulases and hemicellulases. Amanda Moser, Novozymes R&D manager, explains that when the company’s customers expressed interest in low-carbon fuel markets, starting years ago, Novozymes intensified  its commitment to assist them.

Initially, Novozymes got into second-generation ethanol production with its involvement in a first-of-its-kind cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy. The company’s trademarked Cellic line of products included enzymatic pretreatment technologies that catalyze the degradation of plant waste.

Novozymes’ Cellic products help producers breakdown feedstocks such as woody biomass to produce second-generation ethanol. To liberate sugars needed to produce ethanol, the cellulose and hemicellulose found in biomass needs to be degraded. The structure of lignin makes accessing cellulose and hemicellulose difficult because it’s a complex, crosslinked polymer, which gives researchers a challenge in identifying the right combination of enzymes to attack and break down the components within the lignin matrix, explains Osborne. However, the Novozymes team was able to take advantage of its scientists’ expertise and knowledge, combined with a foundational understanding of the customer’s process, to develop technologies to break down biomass to “liberate fermentable sugars,” he explains.

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Moser explains that Novozymes worked with the California Air Resources Board to deliver the right technology.

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CTE Global is an enzyme and yeast provider that develops products that help producers increase yield of both ethanol and DCO, improve production consistency and reach low-carbon markets, explains Pedro Peña, R&D director with CTE Global. He explains that enzymes allow producers to open the corn kernel and get to the protein, fiber, starch and fats, breaking up the matrix in a way that mechanical grinding cannot do. “When we’re looking at innovations, one of the biggest things is putting together enzyme blends that are going to push the boundary of yield, whether that’s oil or whether that’s ethanol,” Peña says.

There are three enzyme blends that CTE Global has been developing as part of its line of next-gen alpha amylase blends, each of which will include different blends of alpha amylase, thermostable protease and thermostable xylanase. The thermostable xylanase component increases oil yield by breaking up the fiber matrix, releasing oil and freeing up more starch to increase ethanol yield, Peña explains. Thermostable protease also seeks to improve oil yields but has the added benefit of providing a blend of amino acids to support yeast health. These enzymes allow producers to release more corn oil, target the corn fiber and improve ethanol yield, all within liquefaction due to their ability to handle high temperatures.

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Another innovation CTE Global has been pursuing is the use of cellulases and hemicellulases to turn corn fiber into low-carbon cellulosic ethanol.

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BASF, another leading supplier of enzymes for the ethanol industry, recently launched its Spartec brand, under which all of its bioenergy products are found, including the company’s latest innovative alpha amylase, Spartec AMY 110. 

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Spartec AMY 110 is used in liquefaction to hydrolyze starch, explains Asfia Qureshi, BASF’s head of applications, innovation and quality control for bioenergy. The amylase reduces viscosity, enabling plants to have higher run rates, increased ethanol yields and increased corn oil recovery.

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With high corn oil prices and a greater focus on carbon reduction, ethanol producers are placing more emphasis on DCO yield and lowering CI scores. “We do also see some plants prioritizing protein. They can separate that and get higher value for it if it is in a higher concentration or a higher purity than just selling it as DDGS—which would be what is left over,” Hoskins says. “These coproducts have become increasingly important.”

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As ethanol producers shift towards a biorefinery model that prioritizes coproducts such as corn oil, DDGs and protein alongside their ethanol, the enzyme industry is keeping in step with producers’ needs as each vendor innovates to develop the products that will help producers thrive. READ MORE

Drawing Out More: Today’s ethanol producers expect new yeasts to be flexible agents of plant efficiency, yield enhancement, coproduct optimization and input reduction. Their suppliers have even higher expectations. (Ethanol Producer Magazine)