Verenium Corporation is now marketing its successful Purifine® phospholipase C (PLC) enzyme product for use in the pretreatment of oil for biodiesel production. The Purifine® PLC enzyme is designed to improve yields and overall economics of edible oil and biodiesel production.

“Since the initial launch of our Purifine® PLC enzymatic degumming process, we have seen rapid adoption and success within the edible oil market, and are pleased to now offer an enzymatic degumming solution for the production of biodiesel,” said James Levine, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium. “When compared to traditional degumming processes, our Purifine® PLC enzyme enables a high yield of oil while at the same time efficiently removing phospholipid impurities. Purifine® PLC can also be applied to replace chemical or crude refining, making for a much ‘greener’ process.”

Verenium began marketing and selling Purifine® PLC in 2008 for processing of edible oils and estimates the addressable global market for Purifine® PLC in production of edible oils and biodiesel to be approximately $350 million annually. The Company expects its first customer applying the enzyme for biodiesel production, engineered and implemented by Alfa Laval, to be fully operational in the first half of 2012.