Key Industrial Applications
| Application | Enzyme | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Biological washing powders | Protease, lipase | Break down protein and fat stains at low temperatures (30–40°C), saving energy |
| Baby food production | Protease | Pre-digests proteins, making food easier for babies to digest and absorb |
| Fruit juice production | Pectinase | Breaks down pectin in cell walls of fruit, releasing more juice and making it clearer |
| Sugar production | Isomerase | Converts glucose syrup to fructose syrup, which is sweeter: less needed, reducing sugar content in foods |
| Brewing and baking | Amylase, zymase (yeast) | Amylase converts starch to sugar; yeast enzymes ferment sugar to produce alcohol (brewing) or CO₂ (baking) |
| Biofuel production | Carbohydrase | Breaks down plant material into sugars for fermentation into bioethanol |
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of using enzymes in industry:
- Work at lower temperatures than chemical catalysts → saves energy and reduces costs.
- Are highly specific → produce fewer unwanted by-products, giving a purer product.
- Are biodegradable → less environmental pollution compared to chemical catalysts.
- Work at neutral or near-neutral pH → less need for strong acids or alkalis.
Disadvantages:
- Can be denatured by even small changes in temperature or pH → require careful control of conditions.
- Can cause allergic reactions in some people (e.g. Enzymes in washing powder can irritate skin).
- Can be expensive to produce in large quantities (though this cost is decreasing with biotechnology advances).
- Some enzymes are contaminated with other proteins that may cause unwanted reactions.
Immobilised Enzymes
Immobilised enzymes are enzymes that are attached to an insoluble material (e.g. Trapped in alginate beads or bound to a surface).
Advantages of immobilisation:
- The enzyme can be reused: it is not washed away with the product.
- The product is not contaminated with enzyme, making it purer.
- Immobilised enzymes are often more stable: they resist denaturation better than free enzymes.
- A continuous process is possible: substrate flows over the immobilised enzyme and product is collected at the other end.
Example: Lactase immobilised in alginate beads is used to produce lactose-free milk. Milk flows through a column of beads, and the lactase breaks down lactose into glucose and galactose.