Dyadic International receives new patent

Dyadic International Inc. was issued a new patent for enzyme composition and development to convert plant biomass into fermentable sugars. 

“Plant biomass provide a plentiful source of potential energy in the form of sugars that can be utilized to produce advanced biofuels and bio-based chemicals,” said Mark Emalfarb, president and CEO of Dyadic. The latest patent broadens Dyadic’s advanced biofuel and biobased material portfolio, while also protecting the company’s C1 Expression System, he added.

The C1 genes could potentially be used in other micro-organisms, such as yeast and fungi. “If someone wanted to make something, using these enzymes or genes, they would have to come to us to get a license,” Emalfarb said. The enzymes with the C1 modification have a broader pH range and can handle pH levels from five to seven, which could allow fermenter operators more flexible monitoring practices. The C1 genome is richer in terms of genomic diversity for enzymes used for cellulose and lignocellulose derived biofuels, he adds. “It’s almost two times the amount of gene diversity in C1 than in trichoderma.”

Abengoa’s 25 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kan., is an example of a plant that is implementing the C1 technology to break down its biomass into sugars, Emalfarb said. “They have a complete A-to-Z technology platform – from pretreatment to saccrification to ethanol – so they could do a whole thing from engineering a whole plant for somebody and we would be the enzyme component inside that plant through Abengoa’s licensing technology,” he added.

“We anticipate that broadening our rights for these applications will allow us to further attract additional blue chip customers, partners and collaborators,” Emalfarb said.

The current patent is the 14th U.S. patent issued to Dyadic.