Asahi Breweries Produces World's First Cellulase Enzyme from Wastepaper

Asahi Breweries, Ltd., a major Japanese brewery, announced on September 25, 2009, that it has successfully developed the technology to produce cellulase at a low cost. This is a class of enzymes that breaks down cellulose -- a main constituent of plant cell walls and fibers -- into sugar.

Cellulase is used to break down the cellulose found particularly in untapped natural plant resources such as rice straw and wheat straw. The demand for this cellulose source has been increasing in the global market, including in the food-processing and energy fields, as well as in bioethanol production, which is noteworthy as a promising rival to petroleum-based fuels for combating global warming.

The technique, for which Asahi has already acquired a patent, enables the company to produce low-cost cellulase enzyme at much less than one-tenth of conventional production cost. Whereas glucose or sucrose are commonly used for producing the enzyme, the technique developed by Asahi allows the use of large amounts of wastepaper such as copypaper, newspaper, and cardboard from offices and households as a culture for producing cellulase.

Asahi Breweries, Ltd. official website
http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/english/

Posted: 2009/12/17 06:00:15 AM