Key Takeaways
- Novonesis has released Quara® Supreme, a thermostable enzyme designed to reduce yield losses in water degumming by up to 2%.
- Water degumming is traditionally a major source of inefficiency, often causing yield losses as high as 5% during the refining process.
- The solution is compatible with soybean, rapeseed, and canola oils, lowering phosphorus levels and preventing FFA generation to meet strict trading specs.
- The technology requires low investment as a drop-in solution, eliminating the need for caustic dosing in existing enzymatic setups.
As global demand for vegetable oil accelerates, driven by both food consumption and the booming renewable diesel (HVO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) sectors, production efficiency has become paramount. While water degumming is a standard stabilization step to meet trading specifications, it historically represents a significant bottleneck where valuable volume is lost. Novonesis aims to mitigate these losses for processors handling major feedstocks like soybean and canola.
Novonesis emphasizes that the product was engineered to address specific industry pain points regarding complexity and flexibility.
“Quara® Supreme was developed in direct response to customer feedback. Processors told us they needed a simpler, more efficient enzymatic water degumming process,” said Hans Ole Klingenberg, Vice President, Global Marketing, Household & Industrial Biosolutions.
He added, “In today’s volatile market, simplicity and flexibility matter more than ever. Processors must respond to shifting prices, production goals, varying oil qualities, and seasonal changes. And Quara® Supreme helps them do just that.”
Bioenergy Business Analysis: For the bioenergy sector, particularly those involved in HVO and SAF production, this development is significant for feedstock economics. With feedstock costs often comprising 70-80% of biofuel production opex, a 2% yield recovery in the pretreatment or crushing phase translates directly to improved margins. Furthermore, by ensuring lower phosphorus levels and preventing Free Fatty Acid (FFA) generation, this technology assists integrated crush-refine-fuel operations in maintaining the high-quality specifications required for hydroprocessing catalysts.
