The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), through the FuturEnzyme project, has presented an enzymatic technology, with high industrial production capabilities and lower environmental impact. This innovation was developed with the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and promises to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 30%.
Optimization of industrial processes with enzymatic technology
After the implementation of artificial intelligence, fermentation platforms and molecular simulation, the consortium has succeeded in designing microbial enzymes adapted to the specific characteristics of various products. These enzymes act as natural catalysts that reduce energy consumption and the need for aggressive chemical compounds.
In practical applications, they have already been incorporated in the formulation of liquid detergents, hyaluronic acid-derived cosmetics and treatments for synthetic fabrics. In all cases, a reduction in the use of water and energy during manufacture has been verified.
The use of enzymes in industrial production could reduce CO₂ emissions by 42 million tons per year, energy consumption by an equivalent of half a million tons of oil and save 16 billion liters of water across the European Union.
Manuel Ferrer, CSIC researcher at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP) and coordinator of FuturEnzyme.
The strategy developed solves one of the historical challenges of the sector: finding efficient, low-cost and adaptable enzymes on a large scale. FuturEnzyme proposes a sustainable solution that can be integrated into multiple industrial multiple industrial sectors, from cosmetics to textiles, with potential annual savings of millions of tons of CO₂, liters of water and energy resources across Europe.
The FuturEnzyme project is part of a select group funded in 2021 by the EU under Horizon 2020, with almost six million euros allocated to boost sustainable consumer products. Its results are already being shared as a roadmap for other initiatives in applied biotechnology.
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Source and photo: CSIC
