The end of sugar?

[davidwh]

Hello all,

Digging about the web focusing on celluases - enzymes able to break complex cellulose into simple sugars.

Background...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic ... hydrolysis

Seems there are a number of major corporations who have the technology...Wonder how long it will be b4 we can get our hands on enzymes in suitable quantities.

2015 receipe

1 shovel of quality sawdust
add enzyme pack
run at 26C
Top to 25lt allow 1 week to produce X lt of sugar equivelent
add yeast at day 8

Dream on!

Cheers dave

[rad14701]

We have at least one or two other topics related to these cellulose enzymes... You can bet that they won't be available to the public until every bit of profitability has been wrung out of the supply chain, not to mention how long it will take for any form of approval for potable ethanol spirits... Don't go holding your breath on getting your hands on them any time soon...

[davidwh]

Hello all,

Oddly..I've found a Chineese based MFG that is selling small qtys of a "food grade celluase" they claim will do the holly grail act for us...

I've ordered a kg to test...lead time to fisrt test will be about 3 weeks.Now I'm truly excited! the posibilties...

cheers
dave

[rad14701]

I'd be very suspicious of anything deemed "food grade" in China based on recent problems with products that they have exported... While just recently being classified as an economic world power it hasn't been very long since they were considered a third world country... You're traveling down a path that I hope others won't choose to follow until more research and data are available... I highly doubt that we'll be seeing spirits made from scrap chaff in the hay loft or lawn mower clippings any time soon, if ever...

[Vodka Joe]

Don't go holding your breath on getting your hands on them any time soon...

Not quite true, rad14701 -- http://www.worthington-biochem.com/CEL/cat.html

As you can see, for as little $37.00 USD plus shipping, you can get enough cellulase to convert cellulose at the rate of 100 grams of glucose per hour. It doesn't state how long the enzyme stays active though...

[rad14701]

At $69 per gram I'd consider that a bit too high priced for our use... More like for lab experimentation...