In previous posts I discussed the patent infringement suit brought by Danish biotech Novozymes against its rival Danisco (recently acquired by DuPont).

Specifically, Novozymes sued Danisco in May 2010 in the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,713,723 (’723 Patent).

The ’723 Patent is entitled “Alpha amylase mutants with altered properties” and is directed to variants of certain alpha amylases that exhibit altered stability under high temperatures, low pH and other conditions. The patented variants can be used for starch conversion in ethanol production.

In May 2011 the court denied Danisco’s motion for summary judgment of invalidity, ruling that the defendant did not meet its burden of proving insufficient written description as a matter of law.

Shortly thereafter the court granted partial summary judgment that Danisco’s Spezyme Alpha WB, GC 133, and Clearflow WB enzyme products infringe the ’723 Patent (Novozymes_Infringement_Order).

The jury recently awarded Novozymes about $18.3 million in damages for the infringement, including $16.7 million for lost profits for certain enzyme products and $1.6 million in reasonable royalties for other products for which Novozymes did not prove lost profits (Novozymes_Verdict).

The jury further found that Danisco’s infringement of the ’723 was willful, although it found Novozymes did not prove infringement of Danisco’s whole broth products.

Biofuels patent litigation has been heating up recently. GreenShift has been the most active, asserting an ethanol processing patent against a host of ethanol producers in eleven cases consolidated in Indiana.

There has been tremendous growth recently in enzymes, processing technologies, and genetically-engineered microorganisms for biofuels. Like those microorganisms, I’m sure the green patent battles will continue to multiply.

Eric Lane is a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego and the author of Green Patent Blog. Mr. Lane can be reached at elane@luce.com.

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The jury is still out on cellulosic ethanol, which is made out of grass, wood and non-edible parts of plants, as to how green and even viable it is.

One of the main challenges is to find the right enzyme that breaks down the cellulosic wall that lodges the sugar that can be converted to alcohol.

There is a lot of research in the field and one of the latest breakthroughs was announced by scientists at the University of York in the UK, wrote Biofuels Daily. Professor Paul Walton and Professor Gideon Davies, of the University’s Department of Chemistry identified the molecular mechanism behind an enzyme found in fungi, which can degrade the cellulose chains of plant cell walls to release shorter sugars for biofuels.

The scientists were part of an international team that has found a method to overcome the chemical intractability of cellulose, thus allowing it to be converted efficiently into bioethanol. They were working with scientists in Novozymes laboratories at Davis, California, and Bagsvaerd, Denmark, as well as researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Cambridge.

The researchers found a way of initiating effective oxidative degeneration of cellulose using the copper-dependent TaGH61 enzyme to overcome the chemical inertness of the material, a major obstacle to make use of it for biofuels. They have published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). They said the research removes the major constraint on the production of bioethanol from cellulose.

Earlier this week, Renmatix, a producer of cellulosic sugars, unveiled its PlantroseTM process, which takes a different approach to producing sugars more cost-effectively.

The company said that at its demonstration facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, it has already scaled its process to convert three dry tons of woody biomass to sugars daily. To further support the company’s growth plans, Renmatix is commencing technical and business operations in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

PlantroseTM process is the first to break down cellulose at industrial scale through supercritical hydrolysis, which utilizes water at elevated temperatures and pressures to quickly solubilize cellulose. The supercritical state of matter has long been utilized in industrial processes including coffee decaffeination and pharmaceutical applications.

Up to this point, supercritical water had never successfully yielded sugar from biomass at significant scale. The process breaks down a wide range of non-food biomass in seconds, uses no significant consumables and produces much of its own process energy, the company said.

It added that with its water-based approach, it is possible to provide cellulosic sugar affordably and on large-scale with no need of expensive enzymes or harsh chemicals.

“Sugar has game-changing potential for the bio-based fuels and chemicals market,” said John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Renmatix board member. “The Renmatix breakthrough enables access to affordable non-food based sugar on an industrial scale.”

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

Related posts:

• Cellulosic Ethanol Expected to Surge in 2013
• More Funding For Cellulosic Ethanol Research
• Using Enzymes from Termites To Make Biofuel from Agricultural Waste
• Zea Chem: The Last Word in Cellulosic Ethanol?
• Cellulosic Biofuel Needs More Support, Says Environmental Agency

A U.S. company has come up with a new way of producing biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks, such as agricultural waste: Using enzymes from the guts of termites to more efficiently produce ethanol.

The startup company, ZeaChem, says using the enzymes from the wood-eating insects has achieved ethanol yields in the laboratory 35 percent higher than other producers of cellulosic ethanol, according to MIT Technology Review.

ZeaChem uses acid to break the cellulose into sugars, but instead of fermenting the sugars into ethanol using yeast — as is customarily done — the company feeds the sugars to an acetogen bacteria found in termites. The bacteria turns the sugars into acetic acid, which produces ethanol when combined with hydrogen.

“It’s not the obvious, direct route, but there is a high yield potential,” said an official from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado.

ZeaChem’s CEO said the company has produced 135 gallons of ethanol per ton of cellulosic feedstock.

Article appearing courtesy of Yale Environment 360

[photo credit: ZeaChem]

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