Jul 6 2010
Royal DSM N.V. is a global company in the Netherlands. The company deals with products and technology utilized by the Life Sciences and Material Sciences. The company has announced a step forward in the production of second generation biofuels.
Agricultural residues or crops cultivated specifically for generating energy, without affecting the food chain, are used to produce second generation biofuels. These crops are grown on land considered less suitable for food crops. Being sustainable products, they also substitute or decrease the use of conventional fossil fuels.
Royal DSM N.V. has announced innovations in two different realms of their research. The first breakthrough is in enzyme technology and the second one in advanced yeast technology.
The company has found that a fungal enzyme that is able to breakdown biomass more efficiently into its basic sugars compared to current enzymes marketed in the industry and to function effectively at higher temperatures. With these distinctive properties the enzyme, that typically flourishes on compost heaps and fallen trees, lowers the enzyme dosage used, increases the loading of feedstock, reduces the energy consumption and shortens the processing time.
The second innovation is the development of an advanced strain of yeast. This strain developed by metabolic engineering by DSM has the capability to convert all the sugars present in biomass, including five carbon and six carbon sugars, which are the fermentable sugars present in biomass, to ethanol. Compared to the yields of current yeasts available in the markets, the DSM advanced strain of yeast can facilitate mixed fermentation of sugars and this can improve the yield of ethanol up to a 100%.
Using a novel marketing approach, the company has been working directly with local customers and its customers to sell its products through its on-site operation thus bypassing pricey global chains and integrating the conversion technology of innovative enzymes into the process of producing biofuels.
Source: http://www.dsm.com/