- VTR Participated in 2021 Alcohol Production Technology and Equipment Exhibition (Siping) and China Alcohol Industry 2021 Annual Conference
 

On September 15-18, 2021, the 2021 Alcohol Production Technology and Equipment Exhibition (Siping) and China Alcohol Industry 2021 Annual Conference was held in Siping, Jilin, at which enterprises related to alcohol production all across the country participated to share production and operation experiences, raw materials and product market analysis, etc., and showcase new processes, new technologies, new equipment and new products of the alcohol industry.
 

Opening Ceremony
 

Presently, the domestic alcohol industry is experiencing difficulties such as increased overcapacity, growing imports, soaring raw material prices and sluggish downstream demands. With the theme of "Innovation, Efficiency and Dual Carbon Efforts (Carbon Peaking & Carbon Neutral)", the event invited a number of industry leaders and experts to deliver speeches, to exchange information on the market demands of alcohol and the supply and demand of raw materials, to focus on the development of biofuel ethanol in China, to contribute to the national construction of "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutral", and to discuss the development prospects of the industry.
 

Speech delivered by Mr. Wang Qi, Executive Director of China Alcoholic Drinks Association
 

Speech delivered by Mr. Zhang Guohong, Secretary General of Alcohol Branch of China Alcoholic Drinks Association
 

On the morning of September 16, the opening ceremony was held grandly, at which industry leaders such as Mr. Wang Qi, Executive Director of China Alcoholic Drinks Association, and Mr. Zhang Guohong, Secretary General of Alcohol Branch of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, delivered speeches to summarize the development of China's alcohol industry and look forward to the future prospects, pointing out that the industry technology has been steadily advancing, new technologies and new processes have been continuously applied, and the overall technology level of the industry has been significantly improved. In the future, the Association will continue to take industry leadership and industry services as the main focus, promote clean and low-carbon consumption, reduce import dependence, improve energy security, promote industry development, boost the whole industry to implement the new concept, drive the new development pattern, and make greater joint contributions to the comprehensive revitalization of the alcohol industry in China.

Two parallel forums were held concurrently during the event, respectively focusing on alcohol production and operation, as well as alcohol equipment and technological advances. On September 17, at the "Parallel Forum on Equipment and Technology Progress", Dr. Li Yangyuan, Director of National Enterprise Technology Center of Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. presented a report titled Functional Modification and Application of High Temperature Amylase for Alcohol Industry.

Report by Dr. Li Yangyuan
 

Dr. Li Yang Yuan presented the discussion from four aspects, and introduced the research background, directed evolution, expression system modification and application in alcohol field of the key product of the Company, high temperature resistant α-amylase.

Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech Co., Ltd., as the first listed company in biological enzyme preparation industry in China, has developed the key product high temperature resistant α-amylase with the advantage of national recognized enterprise technology center as well as other technology platform, and has overcome three major technical difficulties of the product: temperature resistance, acid resistance and efficient enzyme expression, and has obtained 4 national invention patents. The Company has applied the advanced multiple fragment recombination method, in conjunction with the high-throughput screening platform for directed evolution, and adopted Bacillus subtilis as the expression screening host to realize the expression screening of multiple promoters for high temperature resistant α-amylase, significantly improving the temperature resistance, acid resistance and enzyme activity of the product.

The high-temperature resistant α-amylase plays an important role in starchy alcohol production, which can rapidly and randomly hydrolyze the α-1,4 glucosidic bonds in starch, reduce the mash viscosity and facilitate material transport; catalyze the production of a large number of soluble dextrins or short-chain starch with different molecular chain lengths, and provide catalytic substrates for subsequent saccharification. VTR high-temperature resistant α-amylase features the following advantages in starchy alcohol production:

1. Rapid viscosity reduction, exerting a relatively excellent effect of reducing the viscosity of liquefied liquids;

2. Temperature resistance, maintaining high enzyme activity at injection temperatures up to 110℃;

3. Acid resistance, with a pH value usually around 5.2-5.8 in application scenarios, and still having a good liquefaction effect when the pH value is 4.8;

4. Low calcium ion dependence, manufactured with tap water or groundwater without the addition of calcium ions.
 

Dr. Li Yangyuan's report presented in detail the R&D background, scientific research technology and innovation strength of VTR's products. The participants highly attached to Dr. Li Yangyuan's presentation and carried out enthusiastic discussions, and expressed their unanimous recognition of VTR's philosophy of insisting on innovation-driven and promoting high-quality development of the industry.

In addition, VTR also has high quality products such as glucoamylase (glycosylase) and acid protease in the alcohol industry.
 

VTR glucoamylase product is a high-quality saccharifying enzyme product with fast saccharification speed and strong post-saccharification ability, which is based on the saccharification process characteristics of the alcohol industry, adopting modern bioengineering technology selected Aspergillus niger strain (Aspergillus niger) for deep liquid fermentation, extraction and refinement.

Acid protease is a type of hydrolytic enzyme capable of hydrolyzing protein fractions in raw materials under acidic conditions and completely hydrolyzing the proteins in raw materials into amino acids by endo- and exo-cutting effects. The stages of saccharification, distillers' culture and fermentation in the alcohol industry are all in an acidic environment, facilitating the function of acidic protease, which can promote the growth and reproduction of yeast by decomposing amino acids produced from raw proteins, thereby improving the fermentation index and increasing the profitability of alcohol enterprises.
 

Currently, the applications of VTR industrial enzyme products cover the fields of washing, pharmaceutical, starch sugar, alcohol brewing, textile, paper making, baking, etc., and the R&D efforts have formed a series of product lines, improving the quality of downstream industrial products, maximizing the utilization rate of raw materials, assisting the market to reduce costs and increase efficiency, vigorously promoting the green, low-carbon and recyclable development of downstream industries, and contributing to society in terms of food safety, energy saving and emission reduction.

Group Photo
 

The alcohol industry, which deeply processes and comprehensively utilizes agricultural raw materials, plays an important role in the national economy. In recent years, there has been great progress in the development of the alcohol industry, and the level of modernization has been improving. Currently, the development of the alcohol industry has ushered in a new stage of development, the Exhibition, as an annual event, has been successfully held, which has strongly promoted the development of China's alcohol industry. During the event, VTR comprehensively showed its leading scientific research strength, high-tech content products, and continuous innovation development concepts. In the future, VTR will continue to assist the alcohol market in reducing costs and increasing efficiency, innovate the application of industrial enzyme preparations in the new era, empower traditional industries with leading biotechnology, deliver green, safe, healthy and efficient biotechnology solutions, and make new contributions to promote the harmonious and healthy development of human and nature.