EAI perspectives

The true value of biomass - be it the main crop or the so called agricultural waste - is slowly but steadily being deciphered. And what is being realized is that there is really nothing that can be termed biomass waste. Any type of biomass has value embedded in it, and it is even quite possible that the constituents of what we consider as agricultural residues or waste could hold in it even more value than the product for which the crop was grown.

Agri waste disposal is currently being pursued in many ways. In the worst case approach, such residues are burnt at the farm, preventing farmers from monetizing the true potential for such biomass and resulting in significant air pollution as well as CO2 emissions. In a more productive approach, agri waste is converted into fuel - be it as a heating fuel or into liquid transport fuels such as ethanol. 

But could agricultural “waste” be converted into more valuable products? Textile fibers for instance? Or even more valuable industrial products, such as enzymes?

Fermentech Labs is a promising startup that is investing efforts to explore the last mentioned approach - converting agricultural residues to industrial enzymes. In their process, microorganisms are grown on the solid agro waste and they secrete enzymes.

Presently the company is involved in the production of five enzymes i.e., pectinase, cellulases, xylanase, phytase, and amylase. These enzymes find wide applications ranging across fruit juice and wine clarification, textile processing, biofuel production, pharmaceuticals, animal feed supplement, pulp, and paper processing.

For such a large country comprising such diverse crop residues and also having fast growing industrial and commercial segments where a variety of enzymes could find applications, we require more such startups as Fermentech Labs that can help us derive the highest value from agricultural residues. The efforts from many such startups can result in higher self-reliance on such enzymes and more money in the hands of farmers, in addition to less pollution and less CO2 emissions from crop burning.

Team EAI wishes Fermentch Labs the very best!