Enzymes for Bioenergy

Before enzymatic hydrolysis, the biomass needs to undergo pretreatment to make it more accessible to enzyme. This process involves physical, chemical, or biological treatments to break down the lignocellulosic structure of the biomass, making it easier for enzyme to act on.

Once pretreated, enzymes are introduced to the biomass. Cellulase breaks cellulose into glucose, and hemicellulases break down hemicellulose into sugars like xylose and mannose, acting as catalysts to expedite the breakdown of complex polysaccharides into simpler sugars.

The resulting sugar mixture obtained from enzyme hydrolysis is fermented by yeast or bacteria. The microorganisms metabolize the sugars, primarily glucose and xylose, converting them into ethanol and carbon dioxide through the process of fermentation.

The process typically begins with mashing, wherein grains are ground and mixed with hot water to create a mash. Biofuel enzyme, such as our α-amylase, is added at specific temperatures to break down the complex starches present in the grains into simpler sugars, such as maltose.

Our glucoamylases are employed during saccharification to further convert the remaining complex sugars into easily fermentable sugars. This step ensures maximum sugar extraction from the mashed grains.

The resulting sugar-rich liquid, known as wort, is cooled and transferred to fermentation vessels. Yeast is added to the wort, which then consumes these fermentable sugars, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide as byproducts. This fermentation process, driven by the biofuel enzymes' action on the grain-derived sugars, yields the desired alcohol content.