TECHNIQUES
When a new strain is approved, XIKE R&D team rigorously optimizes enzyme production techniques to maximize productivity.
Our engineers will go through complete small-scale production in pilot plant, to work out the most desirable condition for higher enzyme capacity. They will figure out the best fermentation media, find out the optimal temperature & pH, and calculate the most suitable oxygen ventilation volume. Small fermentation tanks of 5L, 10L or 25L are used in such trials. These trials provide us valuable technical data and instruction for large-scale production.
For medium, some of the commonly used medium are starch, soybean, wheat bran etc. They should contain sufficient nutrients to nourish microorganisms that produce enzymes. The ingredients of the medium should be easily available at low cost and particularly safe.
For filtration, enzymes are separated from microbes by press filtration and ultra filtration. In press filtration, water molecules and enzyme molecules are separated from microbes and other media waste due to their smaller size. In ultra-filtration, the micropores on ultra-filtration membrane are larger than water molecules but smaller than enzyme molecules. Therefore, ultra filtration membrane purifies the enzyme molecules, making enzymes highly concentrated.
For formulation, the concentrated liquid products are usually standardized and formulated with preservatives or stabilizers. Powder products can be obtained with additional drying process. The formula of preservatives or stabilizers have great impact on enzyme stability and shelf life. XIKE R&D team scientifically develops formulations of stabilizers and preservatives that best suit the specific chemical properties of enzymes. They ensure our enzyme products are stable enough to meet customer requests. XIKE’s formulation has been strictly proved by many stability tests and analyses.
When standardized production techniques in pilot plant are confirmed by engineers, the strain and techniques will be used in production base for rounds of trials and finally applied in the large-scale production.