Novozymes launches world’s first biological foam control for sugarcane ethanol

Danish biological solutions developer Novozymes has launched the Fermax enzyme protease that prevents foam development during sugarcane ethanol fermentation while delivering improved control and replacing chemicals.

For an average size plant, trialling partners also experienced a cost reduction of up to 20% when using Fermax, as compared with use of chemicals, Novozymes reports.

“This is the first ever biological solution that prevents foam development during the fermentation process, which is a critical issue for producers,” said Daniel Cardinali, Novozymes head of sugarcane platform and biorefining for Latin America.

“With Fermax, sugarcane ethanol producers can use sustainable enzyme technology to lower their costs, reduce the need for harsh chemicals, and increase the amount of ethanol they can produce in their fermentation tanks,” he added

In the fermentation process, the yeast produces ethanol and carbon dioxide, which creates foam that can cause overflow of the fermentation tank and lead to production losses.

Excessive foaming also forces plants to increase fermentation time and operate at lower capacity.

Ethanol producers typically use a combination of anti-foam and dispersant chemicals to reduce the formation of foam, but their performance varies according to process and feedstock conditions.

Fermax helps stabilise the fermentation process to remove the variation seen in current, chemical-based technologies.

Unlike traditional anti-foam products, Fermax does not remove the foam, but prevents it from forming in the first place.

The enzyme changes the foam structure by breaking down the stabilising proteins to make it lighter and less dense, which enables better fermentation control and allows producers to operate their plants more efficiently.

Fermax can completely replace, or work in combination with, traditional dispersant chemicals to boost their activity, and it can also save up to 70% of anti-foam chemicals.

“Sugarcane ethanol producers have traditionally not used enzymes. With Fermax, we start to apply the fascinating power of nature also within this growing industry to further improve production economics,” Cardinali said.

Fermax is applicable across a variety of plant configurations, such as continuous/batch fermentation and continuous/batch yeast treatment.