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New enzymes could save corn ethanol plants up to €850,000

Danish biotechnology company Novozymes has launched two new enzymes which it claims could reduce the amount of residual sugars in ethanol production by up to 70%.

The two products, Spirizyme 2.0 T and Spirizyme Ultra T, form part of Novozymes, Spirizyme T Portfolio, an advanced suite of glucoamylase enzymes with trehalase that deliver yield enhancing activities.

According to a statement from Novozymes, Trehalase products convert sugar that would otherwise be wasted. An average 220-million litre corn ethanol plant in Europe can make up €850,000 in additional revenue from ethanol by reducing the amount of sugar wasted.

“Extensive plant trials of the Spirizyme T products have shown that they reduce the amount of residual DP2 sugars by up to 70 percent,” said Thomas Schrøder, vice president of Novozymes’ Biorefining Commercial section. 

Trehalose, a type of sugar that is normally left unfermented in a standard ethanol plant, is targeted by the trehalase enzyme to produce glucose, which is then fermented to ethanol. Crucially, Trehalose makes up a significant part of the DP2 peak, which is a measure of disaccharides and contributes to the overall residual sugar in an ethanol plant. The more DP2 an ethanol plant can convert, the more ethanol it will produce.

Easy to integrate into the production process, the Spirizyme T portfolio is built on glucoamylase blends, with the addition of trehalase to enhance performance.





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