Edeniq, Inc.

Deepak Singh

Sandra Jacobson

Prachand Shrestha

Kris Ramos

Michael Guerini

Jennifer Headman

Lan Sun

Ngim Muy Ung Ferrell

Mei-Hua Chu

The present disclosure provides methods for generating sugars from a cellulosic biomass. The methods combine treatment of the biomass using a high-shear milling device and saccharification of the biomass to partially hydrolyze the biomass. The biomass can be saccharified either after or simultaneously with the high-shear milling treatment. The partially hydrolyzed biomass is then separated into a solids stream with saccharification enzymes, and a liquid stream with sugars. The solids stream and associated enzymes are further incubated under saccharification conditions to produce additional sugars, or are recycled and added to fresh biomass, which is saccharified under high-shear milling conditions. The methods result in improved conversion of cellulosic biomass to glucose.

Cellulosic enzyme recycling from separation of saccharified biomass

The present disclosure provides methods for generating sugars from a cellulosic biomass. The methods combine treatment of the biomass using a high-shear milling device and saccharification of the biomass to partially hydrolyze the biomass. The biomass can be saccharified either after or simultaneously with the high-shear milling treatement. The partially hydrolyzed biomass is then separated into a solids stream with saccharification enzymes, and a liquid stream with sugars. The solids stream and associated enzymes are further incubated under saccharification conditions to produce additional sugars, or are recycled and added to fresh biomass, which is saccharified under high-shear milling conditions. The methods result in improved conversion of cellulosic biomass to glucose.

Described herein are beta-glucosidase enzymes that have improved beta-glucosidase activity compared to a control beta-glucosidase enzyme. The improved beta-glucosidase enzymes are useful for converting a cellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars such as glucose. Also described are isolated polynucleotides that encode polypeptides having improved beta-glucosidase activity, expression cassettes for expressing the improved beta-glucosidase polypeptides, and cells, such as yeast cells, transformed with the expression cassettes.

Beta-glucosidase enzymes for increased biomass saccharification

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Fresno, CA, United States of America

Deepak Singh