Local Invention May Prove Boon For Booze, Bio-Fuel Industries
StarPhoenix:
A Saskatoon inventor is thinking small to make millions for the booze and biofuel industries – and it’s been dirty work.
University of Saskatchewan microbiology Prof. Dennis Bayrock has invented a chemical that could increase by a few percentage points the amount of ethanol and liquor produced in the fermentation process.
It may not seem like much, but in a year’s worth of production in the two industries, it could mean millions in profit per facility.
He said there are four pillars to the potential for his newest invention.
“Better fuel, better yeast, a better process and better booze.”
The chemical, which hasn’t been named, can be used during the production process to prevent bacteria from stealing the fermenting yeast’s sugars, which is the major contributing ingredient in ethanol production.
Bayrock is among the people who are involved in the “dirty” part of the ethanol business — the messy microbiological level of production.
“What many people don’t know is, ethanol plants aren’t pharmaceutical grade and sterile,” said Bayrock, who often works with the muck-filled fermenters in plants. “They’re biological in nature and bacteria is always an issue.” Read more.
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