FAQ - enzymes

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are proteins, composed of amino-acids, which are produced by all living organisms. Enzymes are responsible for a number of reactions and biological activities in plants, animals, human beings and microorganisms. 

Enzymes are essential for all metabolic processes, but are not themselves living materials. They are distinguishable from other proteins because of their catalytic activity.

How do enzymes work? 

Enzymes are natural protein molecules that act as highly efficient catalysts in biochemical reactions, meaning they help a chemical reaction to take place quickly and efficiently.

Enzymes not only work efficiently and rapidly, they are also biodegradable. Enzymes are highly efficient in increasing the reaction rate of biochemical processes which typically proceed very slowly, or in some cases, not at all.

Are enzymes safe? 

Enzymes have been safely used for thousands of years. One of the earliest examples of industrial enzyme use was in the production of wine. Over the years, enzymes have also been used in beauty and oral care products, textiles, food (eg, cheese), and for the fermentation of cheese, beer, and wine.

Genencor complies diligently with all health and regulatory requirements that apply to our technology. Our products are commercialized only after their safety has been fully established. In our manufacturing plants, we maintain the highest standards of quality assurance and safety.

Do enzymes pose any threat to the environment? 

Enzymes are biodegradable and have minimal environmental impact.

How do you know your products, which are produced by using enzymes, are biodegradable? 

Enzymes are organic and it has been demonstrated in studies that they biodegrade.

What are the environmental benefits for using enzymes?

Enzymes can often replace chemicals or processes that present safety or environmental issues. For example: 

• Replacing acids in the starch processing industry 
• Replacing acids, alkalis or oxidizing agents in fabric desizing 
• Use of enzymes in the tanneries to reduce the use of sulfide
• Enzymes replace pumice stones for “stonewashing” jeans; this reduces pumice and waste
• Enzymes used in animal feeds allow more complete digestion of feed leading to less animal waste per pound gained 
• Use in laundry products as a stain remover. This allows clothes to be washed at lower temperatures, thus saving energy. Enzymes can be used instead of chlorine bleach for removing stains on cloth. The use of enzymes also allows the level of surfactants to be reduced and permits the cleaning of clothes in the absence of phosphates.

What are the other benefits for using enzymes?

Enzymes, as biochemical catalysts, can often replace chemicals or processes that present safety or environmental issues. For example: 

• Enzymes are environmentally friendly, ie, through their incorporation in detergents, washing temperatures could be lowered, and through their incorporation in feed, more efficient use of available resources could be obtained 
  
• Enzymes are consumer friendly when used in detergent formulations allowing the use of less aggressive formulations to help reduce clothing damage during washing 
  
• Enzymes contribute to improved worker safety conditions during production processes. For example, in starch, paper and textile processing, less hazardous chemicals are required.

How are enzymes produced in a manufacturing process? 

Enzymes are quite often not available in sufficient quantities for industrial use. Biotechnology offers the possibility of producing enzymes for industrial use by optimizing the living conditions of a microorganism and, therefore, improving its “production capacity." This technique, well known for a long time, is called fermentation. After this fermentation process, the enzymes are isolated, and further processed for industrial use.

Are enzymes living organisms?

No. Although enzymes are formed in living cells, they are not living materials.

What types of enzymes are there?

Enzymes are categorized according to the compounds they act upon. Some of the most common include proteases which break down proteins; cellulases which break down cellulose; lipases which split fats into glycerol and fatty acids; and amylases which break down starch into simple sugars.

What industries use enzymes?

Cleaning Products
The primary use for enzymes worldwide is as the active “biological” component of detergents and cleaning products. Here, proteases, amylases, and lipases are used to break down protein, starch, and fatty stains. Genencor tests the compatibility of enzymes with detergent ingredients by doing stability studies and testing them in a variety of formulations. Genencor performs well-controlled laboratory experiments to demonstrate how enzymes perform under many different conditions.

Fabric Care
Enzymes are used in the textile industry, mainly in the finishing of fabrics and garments. Major applications include:

• Desizing removal of size, that is stiff elements of fiber, from warp threads in fabrics after weaving
• Bio-polishing a process to reduce pilling tendency and to give fabrics a smoother and glossier appearance
• Bio-stoning a process where a small dose of enzyme can replace traditional pumice stones used in stonewashing of denim to achieve a worn look

Agri Processing
Enzymes are used for the liquefaction and saccharification of starch into glucose and isomerisation into fructose. Genencor’s enzymes are used to convert large volumes of corn and other grains into sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup and maltose syrup. Enzymes are also used for the conversion of starch into fuel ethanol.

Specialties
Other areas in which enzymes are used extensively include the baking, fruit juice, brewing, distilling, wine making, leather, oils and fats, paper and pulp, and animal feed industries.

What is Genencor’s involvement in the enzyme industry?

Genencor is the second largest developer and manufacturer of industrial enzymes in the world. Genencor holds many patents and applications worldwide validating its numerous breakthroughs in biotechnology for commercial applications.

Genencor introduced the first industrial scale, recombinant enzyme in 1988 and is a leader in the areas of protein engineering, expression/secretion technology and enzyme-substrate interaction.