Enzymes Next Big Thing in Bio-Innovations

The process that makes for a refreshing, cold beer also allows for washing out stains in cold water and is one of the fastest growing fields in the sustainability movement.

Novozynes Inc. of Copenhagen, Denmark, presented a program on its bio-innovations on Aug. 7 at the Doing Business in Bentonville supplier speaker series presented by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The threat of global warming along with skyrocketing raw materials and energy costs tied to the price of oil have presented Novozymes with an opportunity to tout its manufacturing processes for enzymes and microorganisms.

But back to the beer for a moment. Novozymes’ enzymes allow brewers to produce

larger quantities of beer from a smaller supply of malt, a significant achievement given malt prices increased by 80 percent during 2007.

Different enzymes allow for the use of cold-water detergents, eliminating the need for hot water and harsh chemicals while producing cost and environmental benefits.

According to its company profile, Novozymes has more than 600 products used in more than 40 industries in 130 countries, including the U.S. Novozymes announced in June it would invest $80 million to $100 million for a new plant in Blair, Neb., to serve the country’s growing biofuels industry in the Midwest.

Claus Stig Pedersen, senior head of sustainability for Novozymes, said the possibilities are endless with applications from textiles to biofuels and food-based polymers.

“When we talk about organic-based products,” Pedersen said, “There is almost an unlimited potential to use enzymes instead of traditional chemicals. There are still a lot of companies and people who don’t understand the benefits of copying nature.”

Pedersen said Novozymes has been producing enzymes in industrial quantities for more than 25 years with biologists “running around in nature” isolating the catalysts for natural process usually replicated by chemicals.

Pedersen noted the textile industry’s “scarring” process can be done with enzymes, which leads to a healthier environment for workers in addition to less water and chemical usage.

In the food industry, Novozymes products allow for the greater yield in the pressing of products like peanuts or olives into oils. These healthier oils have seen a boost in demand as the food industry transitions away from the heart-clogging transfats found in traditional processed oils.

Novozymes has been ranked No. 1 on the Dow Jones Index of Sustainable Technology for seven years running. In 2007, Novozymes products contributed to reducing CO2 emissions by more than 20 million tons globally.

For each kilogram of Novozymes’ enzymes applied in an industrial process an average of 100 kilograms of CO2 emissions are saved, according to the company.

The company has operations in Europe, China, U.S. and Brazil, the latter where it has been heavily involved in biofuels innovations for years.

In fact, with the embrace of biofuels but the outcry over rising food prices tied to crop diversion, Novozymes’ processes stand to provide a major benefit to the technology.

Novozymes is close to launching enzymes for producing “second generation” biofuels not just from corn and wheat, but from straws and other waste from food production. Pedersen said the company’s process will be commercially viable in a couple years

“That’s the future,” he said.