Novozymes & Fibenol have entered a commercial partnership to demonstrate lignocellulosic biorefining on an industrial scale

April 27, 2023

Bioproducts around us / News Bulletin / Top Stories

Date released April 2, 2023 /

Due to their abundance worldwide, lignocellulosic residues have an enormous potential to substitute petrochemicals with bio-based alternatives. However, efficient cellulose degradation into sugars has long been an obstacle to the wider spread of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Now, the tide seems to be changing.

Based on significant advancements over the past 5 years, Fibenol is now starting up its first lignocellulosic biorefinery in Imavere. The recalcitrant lignocellulosic structures are effectively opened with a combination of Sunburst™ pre-treatment technology and tailored enzymatic cocktails from Novozymes. This combination provides more than 90% conversion of birch wood processing residues into high-quality cellulosic sugars and co-products, including high-purity lignin LIGNOVATM.

“With advanced biology we can unlock new commercial opportunities within biorefining across the world. The partnership with Fibenol resonates with our strategy to unlock growth – powered by biotech and emphasizes how we continuously work in partnership with our customers to unlock the full value of biomass and its co-products”, says Hans Ole Klingenberg, VP of Agriculture & Biosolutions, Novozymes.

At Fibenol we are not merely focused on sugars but also on high-quality lignin. As a result, higher than usual standards for the enzymatic hydrolysis process were set to enzyme solution providers. The objective was to reach over 95% cellulose hydrolysis in a reasonable timeframe and low enzyme dose.

Novozymes has been an active collaboration partner from day one, helping to tailor the enzymatic solution for our hardwood residues. Over the years of development, we have seen a significant drop in enzyme usage, improving greatly our OpEx costs while still achieving the high cellulose hydrolysis required to produce high-quality lignin.

“For Fibenol, this optimization process has reached to a point where enzymes are no longer the limiting bottleneck of commercializing lignocellulosic biorefineries. Although still room for improvement this is a significant milestone for this type of biorefinery “, says Peep Pitk, CDO of Fibenol

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