Detergents:
Enzymes have been used in biological detergents since the mid-1960s to remove stains that could otherwise be removed only by boiling and bleaching – processes that are harsh on both garments and the environment.
New enzymes that are capable of dealing with different types of stain are being discovered all the time. Novozymes' goal is to replace more and more of the strong chemicals found in detergents with enzymes.
Leather and textiles:
When treating hides and leather, tanneries use many strong chemicals; for example sulphides, which are used together with lime to remove the hair from hides. Wastewater from this process is highly polluted and can present a major environmental problem.
However, enzymes enable tanneries to cut the consumption of sulphides by 40% and yet make leather of a higher quality than before. Enzymes can be used in a similar way in the textile industry, where they can completely replace strong acids in the preparation of textiles.
Paper:
The pulp and paper industry is a heavy polluter, with paper mills consuming vast quantities of timber, water, chemicals and energy.
The production of white paper requires large amounts of chlorine, which is extremely bad for the environment. However, enzymes can be used in the bleaching process to reduce the amount of chlorine needed by around a third - and Novozymes is actively hunting for new enzymes to replace chlorine completely.
Food:
Undesirable chemicals are not only used in industrial processes but are also added to foods in the form of colourings, flavourings and preservatives.
Enzymes can replace many of these chemicals and so make food production more natural. For example, chemicals have traditionally been used to get the most out of the fruit used in the manufacture of products such as fruit juice and wine, but enzymes are not only able to replace the chemicals, but also help to extract even more juice from the fruit.
Animal feed:
Phosphates are one of the major environmental problems in agriculture.
It is important for animal feeds to contain plenty of phosphates because livestock needs them to produce energy. The problem is that many of the phosphates naturally found in feeds are not readily digestible and so pass straight through the animals in their excrement.
However, feeds can be treated with enzymes to make a far higher proportion of the natural phosphates digestible and so avoid the need for phosphate supplements. This results in far fewer phosphates entering the environment, which benefits groundwater, streams and rivers.