An enzyme manufacturing company has introduced a new product it claims will enable biofuel producers to more cost-effectively manufacture cellulosic ethanol from a wide range of feedstocks, including switchgrass, wheat straw and corn stover as well as municipal solid waste.
“Accellerase Trio can accelerate the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels in markets across the world, helping many countries and companies find a more sustainable alternative to petroleum,” says Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO of Genencor.
The company says Accellerase Trio will improve the economics of cellulosic biofuel production by permitting a low-enzyme dosage, as well as improve the effectiveness of converting biomass into sugars, a critical step in ethanol production.
“With Accellerase Trio, Genencor provides a combined ‘cocktail’ of enzymes all in one product to breakdown the glucan (C6) and xylan (C5) in the biomass feedstock into fermentable sugars, thus increasing the ethanol yield per unit of feedstock,” says a company news release.
In addition, the product can help boost total ethanol production by lowering viscosity and enabling producers to process more biomass, the release adds.
Genencor is a division of Danisco A/S, which was recently acquired by DuPont. Genencor enzymes and enzyme production will now operate within DuPont Industrial Biosciences.