A German scientist says he has discovered an enzyme that “teaches” yeast cells to ferment xylose into ethanol in just one step.
Goethe University Professor Eckhard Boles, co-founder of the Swiss biofuel company Butalco GmbH, said xylose is an unused waste sugar in the cellulosic ethanol production process during which the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used for ethanol production. But Boles said current bioethanol production technologies can use only parts of the plants, namely the storage sugars such as glucose, sucrose or starch, and that technology competes with food and feed production.
Boles and his team discovered a new enzyme that, in contrast to current cellulosic ethanol technologies, can convert xylose in a single step and isn’t inhibited by other chemical compounds normally present within the yeast cells. The researchers have filed a patent application for their process.
German Engineering is at it again! Innovation coupled with commitment and consciousness propel such innovative methods, and German scientists are regarded as the pioneers with such methodology !
