A promising industry gets a new lease of life. Not too long ago, fuels derived from renewable sources were regarded as an environmentally friendly and innovative alternative to mineral oil. There was just one problem: most first-generation biofuels were produced from foodstuffs – for example, cereals. In view of rising food prices across the world this development has turned out to be a dead end. But now a Danish biotechnology company seems to have found the solution – a new technology that facilitates the production of biofuels from plant waste – and at a competitive price.
The biofuel industry, which had originally looked so promising, has had to take some stick in its short history. For example, the competitiveness of biofuels is hampered by the high cost of complex and expensive research and development work. It had scarcely arrived on the market when it ran into global political resistance because first-generation biofuels were made from so-called energy crops that had originally been planted as food crops. More and more land was being used to produce bioenergy, and less and less to produce food and animal fodder. The price of food rose sharply as it became scarcer. According to the World Bank index, the price of food rose by an average of 140 percent between 2002 and 2008. Despite an increase in supply over this period, coupled with good harvests and significant productivity improvement, strong demand, especially from the biofuel sector, resulted in inventories remaining at relatively low levels. Encouragement for the production of biomass and biofuels in the
- In 2007/2008, 23 percent of US grain production, 14 percent of world grain production, plus 54 percent of Brazilian sugarcane and 47 percent of EU vegetable oil production, were being used to produce biofuels;
- Production of biodiesel rose by 1,200 percent between 2004 and 2007 in the
- More than 80 million tons of maize was used for bioethanol production in the
White Biotechnology Solves the Dilemma
White biotechnology or industrial biotechnology refers to production processes that primarily use natural, biological resources. It includes fermentative and enzymatic processes which provide alternatives to classic chemical synthesis and promise much in both economic and ecological terms. White biotechnology either exploits the potential of renewable commodities for industrial manufacturing and production, thereby reduces dependence on traditional resources, or it uses these resources more efficiently. This makes it a key technology of the 21st century. Novozymes, a Danish biotech company, recognised the potential of white biotechnology at a very early stage and specialises in the research and development of enzymes which, among other uses, are essential for the production of biofuels.
Enzymes and Micro-Organisms: Little Helpers with a Big Impact
If the ethanol fuel industry is to meet the challenges such as high prices due to huge research and development costs, and to avoid the controversy of using food crops for fuel hence drives up food prices, Novozymes may now have a solution – its Cellic CTec2 technology. The cellulosic ethanol comes from materials such as corncobs and stalks, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, and woodchips – all non-food raw materials. Enzymes break down cellulose in the biomass into sugars that are then fermented into ethanol. Novozymes says that its Cellic CTec2 enzymes will enable cellulosic biofuel to be a competitive alternative to gasoline.
Novozymes describes Cellic as the first commercially viable enzymes for production of biofuel from agricultural waste. It also says that the enzymes can produce ethanol at a price below USD 2 per gallon. Full-scale production would start in 2011 when Poet, the big US-based biofuel producer, is scheduled to open the world's first commercial cellulosic ethanol facility. According to Novozymes, advances in enzymes have reduced the cost of enzymes needed for cellulosic ethanol by 80% over the past two years to 50 cent per gallon.
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