Dyadic International has received its 12th patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,304,212 entitled “Methods and compositions for degradation of lignocellulosic material”. The patent covers methods and compositions for using enzymes mixtures to convert plant biomass into fermentable sugars for the production of various products. The patent also covers novel combinations of enzymes including those that provide a synergistic release of sugars from plant biomass.
“In developing and selling industrial enzymes, our customers and partners not only benefit from Dyadic’s patented C1 platform technology but also from Dyadic’s fungal strains and technologies based on the Trichoderma fungal organism,” said Dyadic’s President and CEO, Mark Emalfarb. “Dyadic uses these strains to produce specialty enzymes that can be used for a variety of applications in such fields as animal health and nutrition, biofuels and bio-based chemicals. As with our growing portfolio of patents covering the C1 technology, this patent will provide Dyadic, its customers and licensees with additional protection for our Trichoderma-based enzyme mixtures.”
The patent also specifically describes methods of increasing the yield of fermentable sugars from fermentation of dried distillers grains (DDGs) using enzyme mixtures comprising glucoamylase, beta-glucosidase and alpha-arabinofuranosidase. More specifically, it specifically covers Trichoderma-based enzyme mixtures, which significantly and unexpectedly increase the yield of fermentable sugars from DDGs. DDGs are obtained after the fermentation of the starch derived from a number of grains including corn, wheat, barley, oats, rice, and rye and are typically used for animal feed. DDGs are also a byproduct of ethanol production which creates synergies in using enzymes for both biofuels and animal feed applications.