DSM enzymes qualify for Inbicon cellulosic ethanol process

In Denmark, Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has been qualified as supplier of enzymes for the DONG Energy/Inbicon’s wheat straw to cellulosic ethanol process.

The enzymes have been successfully used in the demonstration scale biorefinery of DONG Energy – Inbicon in Kalundborg, Denmark.

The qualification reconfirms the high standard and flexibility of DSM’s cocktail of enzymes to break down and convert the cellulose and hemicellulose from the straw fibers into simple C5 and C6 sugars. DONG Energy – Inbicon Biomass Refinery is the world’s largest scale cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant that is currently in operation. The plant has a capacity of 1.5 million gallons a year and produces cellulosic biofuel for Statoil which is distributed via gasoline stations throughout Denmark.

DSM becomes, after Novozymes and Genencor, the third enzyme producer to qualify for the Inbicon process.

Jan Larsen, head of R&D Inbicon, says: “The DSM enzyme cocktail has performed successfully in the Inbicon process at demonstration scale. It showed the same high yield as was obtained in pilot scale. This cocktail has both a broad pH range and high temperature tolerance which make DSM’s enzymes very favorable for industrial production of cellulosic bio-ethanol at high dry matters. The technical reports and analysis from the test program are now finalized and we conclude that the DSM enzymes are now qualified for the Inbicon process.”

Overall, DSM’s enzymes have now been proven in multiple tests at various scales by research institutes and company labs across the globe to be working across multiple feedstocks such as corn crop stover, wheat straw, wood chips and sugarcane bagasse. They have also been tested on the full range of pre-treatment, from very harsh to relatively mild (as is the case in the Inbicon process), giving supportive evidence to the versatility of the DSM enzyme system.