Novozymes’ Yeast Beast in New Release; Innova Lift’s Yield Revealed
Novozymes’ Yeast Beast in New Release; Innova Lift’s Yield Revealed
In North Carolina, Novozymes launched its next yeast technology, Innova Lift, for the starch-based ethanol industry. The product follows the launch earlier this year of its ambitious yeast platform, Innova, and the first product, Drive.
The Need to Knows
• Lift is targeted to plants with longer fermentation times, generally 57 hours or more – delivering greater tolerance to common causes of yeast stress, the opportunity for better yields, and eliminating costly yeast food, which is common amongst competitive cream yeast.
• Lift remains effective through fermentation temperature spikes up to 98°F (۳۶.۷°C) – significantly higher than the 94°F that most other yeasts can tolerate
• Producers can eliminate downtime, cut cooling costs and maximize the plants’ efficiency, while achieving up to ۲-۴% better yields, compared to conventional dry yeasts
The yeast backstory
(You’re a yeast expert? Go ahead and skip to the next section.)
Yeast converts raw materials into ethanol. Same stuff that converts grape juice into wine, or grain into whiskey. Corn goes into the plant and is broken down by enzymes to prepare it for fermentation. During fermentation, yeast is added. The yeast consumes the raw materials and releases ethanol and carbon dioxide. Ethanol producers spend a lot of time and energy ensuring that the right conditions exist for yeast to thrive. The stronger and more efficient the yeast, the better able it is to tolerate production stresses and generate ethanol – improving productivity and profitability.
?What is it
Novozymes’ yeast platform, Innova, has been founded on new S. cerevisiae yeast – utilizing proprietary methods to enhance its ability to withstand the rigors of today’s ethanol production processes and goals.
Innova Lift expresses a glucoamylase that is two times more effective at converting difficult-to-reach starch. When paired with advanced enzyme solutions, Lift also has the potential to significantly increase ethanol yields, reduce fermentation risks and eliminate costly inputs, while improving performance reliability.
In short, it rounds out the portfolio — a complement to Drive, rather than cannabalizing Drive’s fan base. As we’ve seen in the world of ethanol, some prefer to run longer fermentation times, some do not. It’s proven more efficient to customize organisms to meet the range in customer needs, rather than shoehorn the industry into “one size fits all”.
But it’s not a no-brainer. Different fermentation run times mean different glucose availability requirements, different nutrient targets.
An ethanol plant’s fermentation is a crucial part of securing better yields. However, the fermentation process is also tricky; even small spikes in temperature or organic acid levels can cause disruptions. Having the opportunity to use a robust yeast can help producers meet these two key challenges.
