Butamax lands key advanced biofuels patent

September 27, 2012 |

In Delaware, the USPTO has granted Butamax Patent Number 8,273,558 (‘558 patent). The innovative ‘558 patent technology provides a path to commercial production volumes of biobutanol for the global biofuel and other markets. Butamax has specifically designed its microorganism to be cost-effective for all markets, but particularly for biofuel blending.

While unmodified yeast may produce trace amounts of isobutanol via a different pathway than Butamax’s inventions, these unmodified yeasts only express certain enzymes in smaller compartments of the cell. This limits the availability of these enzymes to convert sugar to biobutanol in significant quantities and at high rates. Butamax developed modified genes that express key enzymes in the larger ‘cytosol’ area of the cell.

This innovation, which is protected by the ‘558 patent allows for increased expression of these enzymes resulting in a significant increase in the volume and rate of isobutanol produced. This technology is critical for the commercial scale production needed to enable the global biofuels market. The ‘558 patent, which was filed from a 2005 priority application, also protects blending the isobutanol produced through the modified yeast cells with fossil fuels.

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Category: Fuels

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