fuel ethanol & renewable chemicals

Enabling a better future

Reducing our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and our dependence on fossil resources is a major challenge of this century. Fermentation is an economically viable route for substituting petro-based molecules — whether producing renewable fuels, such as ethanol, or drop-in molecules for industrial production. Lesaffre develops  industrial microorganisms and processes that allow renewable productions, to accelerate the transition towards a better future.

From biomass to fuel ethanol

Renewable ethanol is produced by yeast fermentation from the conversion of carbon-based feedstocks including sugar cane, sugar beets, corn, wheat, rice or cassava, among others, as well as from waste and agricultural residues. Starch or ligno-cellulosic substrates are required to break down the feedstock into fermentable sugars, using various pre-treatment and enzyme technologies.

Used together with gasoline, fuel ethanol reduces CO₂ emissions and helps to improve air quality. Lesaffre, with its business unit Leaf, develops new yeast strains that unlock the potential of local alternative feedstocks, and improve yield and productivity for ethanol producers.

Promoting a sustainable economy

Bio-based products aim to capitalize on biomass to reduce our dependence on the fossil resources that negatively impact global warming. The challenge lies in developing more eco-friendly production processes that reveal the potential of natural resources, which are sometimes under-exploited. We believe in the potential of fermentation to address this issue. We work with our partners to develop economically viable fermentation solutions for deployment in the bioeconomy.