Detergent enzymes production

Until the end of the sixties enzyme products such as the detergent proteases were just powder products. Today very few powdered-enzyme products remain. All detergent enzyme products from the larger enzyme suppliers arc either hquid formulations or granulated and further protected by coatings. Today formulation techniques really have become a science with MAC-values in production facilities of 10-100 nanogram/m air. It is further recommended that the use of such safe enzyme products shall be planned such that the liquid enzyme product is not spilled and allowed to diy and aerosol formation shall be prevented. With these simple rules in mind, industrial enzymes arc very safe. 

Mansfield LE, Bowers CH (1983) Systemic reaction to papain in a nonoccupational setting. J Allergy Clin Immunol 71 371-374 McMurrain KD (1970) Dermatologic and pulmonary responses in the manufacturing of detergent enzyme products. J Occup Med 12 416-420... 

McMurrain KD (1970) Dermatological and pulmonary responses in the manufacturing of detergent enzyme products. J Occup Med 12 416-420... 

Table 10 Summary of the Methods of Detergent Enzyme Production Based on Gene Technology...

The new Uquid laundry detergents, with no phosphates, have developed a use for alkan olamines. In nonenzyme formulations, they contribute alkalinity, pH control, and enhanced product stabiUty. In enzyme products, alkan olamines contribute to the stabiUty of the enzyme in water solutions (107). 

Design of liquid enzyme products with built-in liquid detergent stabilization system... 

Design of liquid enzyme products with built-in liquid detergent stabilization system 157 5.5.1 Enzyme Kinetics and Determination of K, in a Buffer System... 

In many applications several quite different technical criteria must be successfully fulfilled before the product will work , and even then cost and scale-up and commercial criteria must be met. A good example is detergent enzymes where scientists had to discover proteases that would be active and stable under conditions of high pH and temperature and in the presence of oxidising and surface active agents. The same criteria exists for lipases for use in detergents. However, suitable lipases proved rather more difficult to find than the B. subtilis proteases that are used... 

Enzymes used in laundary detergents are almost all produced using Bacillus enzymes, most commonly Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus licheniformis, which all secrete the detergent enzymes into the fermentation broth. The market is highly concentrated two producers cover more than 50% of the market share worldwide Novozymes (Bagsvaerd, Denmark) and Genencor (Palto Alto/CA, USA). Table 6.2. lists several commercial products with their functions. 

World War II spurred much advancement in the production of penicillin, particularly the advent of submerged fermentation processes. This new technique was soon adapted to the large-scale production of bacterial proteases. The first modern detergent protease, isolated from Bacillus licheniformis, was introduced in 1962. This enzyme, a particular type of protease called a subtilase, was stable at higher temperatures, had broad substrate specificity and worked well in alkaline conditions. The appearance of this enzyme and others similar to it (i.e., subtilisins) opened up the detergent enzymes market, and by 1969, 50% of the laundry detergent products sold in the United States and Europe contained enzymes. ... 

Fig. 3 A large-scale fermentor for the production of detergent enzymes. (View this art in color at www.dekker.com.)...

To begin, enzyme products can be inside the cell (intracellular), loosely associated with the cell, or secreted (extracellular). Each of these products requires a different approach on how to purify the enzyme. The majority of presently commercialized detergent enzymes is of the extracellular variety and can be recovered directly from the fermentation broth. Thus, the primary recovery challenge involves removing the cells from the broth, aptly called cell separation. Three different techniques are commonly used to achieve this goal filtration, microfiltration, and centrifugation. 

The final formulation of liquid detergent enzymes includes addition of stabilizers, antimicrobial substances, and glycols. This is followed by a final polish filtration to provide a clear liquid. If the enzyme broth is slated for dry product, the concentrate can either be stored for later use or applied directly for granulates. As with fermentation and downstream processing, formulations are often kept as closely guarded trade secrets in the biotechnology industry, and few publications on new approaches or new technologies are available in the literature. 

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