There are significant issues in India with regard to the pollution of waterways from effluents from sugar processing plants. Sugarcane processing produces notable levels of industrial waste due to inefficiencies in capturing full value from the biological components of the raw material. In particular, large amounts of woody biomass residues accumulate and enter water effluents from processing plants, causing significant pollution of waterways. We will develop innovative biotechnological approaches to generating new value to sugarcane processing, while simultaneously minimising waste from process plants. We will convert the polluting components from waste streams into sugars that can be fermented to make citric acid that can be sold into various commercial markets. By doing this we will help reduce the pollution from sugarcane processing, providing cleaner water and a cleaner environment. By creating valuable new products out of sugarcane waste we will help increase industrial productivity and create new jobs in the production of citric acid. These changes will lead to improved environmental impacts, increased profitability and new job creation.
Our work will be compatible with four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/).
1. Clean Water and Sanitation- our work will help improve water quality for populations near sugarcane plants.
2. Decent Work and Economic Growth- our work can underpin increased economic production from sugarcane processing leading to new jobs and improved incomes in rural area.
3. Industry Innovation and Infrastructure- by developing new industrial biotechnological industries we will help strengthen economic growth in India.
4. Life Below Water- by reducing harmful emissions of waste-water we will improve aquatic ecosystems in waterways associated with sugar mills in India.
Awaiting Public Project Summary
This project aims to develop specialised cloud computing software at Newcastle University designed specifically
for big data applications in the area of bioinformatics. The new software will enable scientists at Prozomix
Limited to develop very large panels of biological catalysts (enzyme products) for various fields of application,
but principally the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by synthetic chemists. Such Green-
Chemistry industrial processes are in great demand as they offer the ability to produce such high value
chemicals with significantly less impact on the environment, such as from heavy metals, solvent and other
processing waste generated by traditional chemical processes. As a result such bioprocesses can also reduce
the cost of production of APIs, leading to a positive societal impact through wider availability/increased
effectiveness of drugs. This project will further cement the position of Prozomix Limited as a key supplier of
such innovative biocatalysis enzyme screening products/services, and significantly contribute to the ambition of
the company to become the gold-standard supplier in this rapidly expanding commercial sector.
The purpose of this feasibility project is to create a deep systems biology level understanding of the stresses placed upon an organism, under a range of (fed-)batch and continuous fermentation conditions required for the large scale and high titre manufacture of biocatalysts, through the use of the complex analytical techniques of metabolomics and proteomics. The project seeks to understand how variation in the genetic constructs and process conditions used to direct protein production can affect the organism and how these effects might be mitigated against, minimised and controlled by further re-design of the genetic components, feed medium and process conditions. The development of robust fermentation processes has economic advantages, through both cycle time reduction and raw material efficiencies and will have clear impact beyond this feasibility study through the reliable and more economic commercial supply of enzymes to Industrial Biotechnology using industries.
A consortium comprising Shasun, Prozomix and CatScI has been established as part of the Innovate UK’s IB Catalyst. The key goal of the project is to develop a novel IB route to a nutraceutical that is currently manufactured through traditional chemical manufacturing techniques or isolated from scarce natural resources. The new technology has the potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs whilst concomitantly allowing an increased output of the nutraceutical with a more robust supply chain. Additionally, this will have the added benefits of generating a more sustainable process as it will be more energy efficient and less reliant on hydrocarbon and precious metal based technologies. A successful project will allow the consortium to compete with manufacture in low-cost economies and help ensure that production of this critical nutraceutical continues in the United Kingdom.
This project aims to use cutting-edge high-throughput proprietary bioinformatics software, called "Filter-BLAST", in conjunction with the ever rapidly expanding DNA databases, to efficiently and accurately identify at the in silico level 500 key target enzymes, representing a diversity of 10 key biochemistries currently missing from the synthetic chemists enzyme toolbox. Advanced/proprietary high-throughput cloning technology (previously developed by Prozomix using TSB funds), called "GRASP", will then be used to rapidly clone the target genes selected and develop the encoded biocatalysts to cost-effectively populate 10 large/novel screening panels of key enzymes, and provide these materials to the biocatalysis community for screening towards specific individual biocatalysts of interest. After discovering enzymes fitting their exacting requirements, commercial quantities in animal-free, BSE-TSE certified form from Prozomix will be used to establish the new IB applications in the UK.
A consortium comprising of Prozomix, CatScI Ltd and Charnwood Technical Consulting has been established as part of the Innovate UK’s IB Catalyst. The key goal of the project is to develop a technology platform for an IB route to active pharmaceutical ingredients to replace current processes manufactured through traditional chemical manufacturing techniques. The new technology has the potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs whilst concomitantly allowing an increased output of the active pharmaceutical ingredient with a more robust supply chain. Additionally, this will have the added benefits of generating a more sustainable process as it will be more energy efficient and less reliant on hydrocarbon and precious metal based technologies.
This project seeks to apply a novel nanofibre material to industrial biocatalysis for the first time. The goal being to reduce the costs and environmental impact compared to traditional chemical synthesis. The results of the project will be a global product delivering revenues to two UK based companies who will re-invest the proceeds in research and development here in the UK.
Biocatalysts Ltd. will undertake a project to develop a novel enzyme for production of high value speciality yeast extracts. These speciality yeast extracts are valued for their natural taste intensification properties, ability to mask undesirable bitter notes, creation of umami flavours and their use in reduced salt content food recipes.
This project aims to use synthetic biology principles to derive a platform of new recombinant enzymes to be utilised for the production of key flavour compounds used by the food and personal care industries. Our innovative approach will make use of sustainable feedstocks and waste vegetable oil to derive high value fine chemicals of great current importance to the flavour and perfume industries. The project involves the discovery and development of novel/optimised enzyme systems followed by determination of the kinetics of the desired biotranformations and demonstration of the proposed process(es) at batch pilot scale.