Tuesday, April 20, 2010
10-07

Conversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars by DSM enzyme system

Panagiotis Sarantinopoulos1, Wim de Laat2, Margot Schooneveld1, Piet van Egmond1, Manoj Kumar1, and Hein Stam1. (1) DSM White Biotechnology B.V., P.O Box 1, 2600 MA, Delft, Netherlands, (2) DSM Biotechnology Center, DSM, P.O Box 1, 2600 MA, Delft, Netherlands

The economic dependency on fossil fuels and the resulting effects on climate and environment have put tremendous focus on utilizing fermentable sugars from lignocellulose, the largest known renewable carbohydrate source. Hydrolysis of lignocellulose carbohydrates into fermentable sugars, for the production of second generation bioethanol, requires a number of different cellulases and hemicellulases. Within DSM a research project is ongoing, supported by a DOE subsidized program, aiming at developing technologies that can be deployed for the commercial production of a lignocellulosic (LC) pretreated biomass saccharification enzymes’ cocktail having a viable cost structure. The R&D activities are focused, among others, on improving our advanced fungal host expression system and developing a robust fermentation process for efficient and cost effective cellulolytic enzymes’ production, increasing the catalytic efficiency of LC enzymes and optimizing the final application conditions for higher ethanol production. Significant improvements in yield and cost reductions are expected, making large-scale hydrolysis and fermentation of LC substrates possible, thus enabling sustainability and energy independence.

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