Biological Research Centre (CIB)
Calle Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
Susana Camarero is Tenured Scientist of CSIC in the group of Biotechnology
for Lignocellulosic Biomass of the Microbial and Plant Biotechnology Department, at the CIB. She has
more than 75 publications, mainly related to ligninolytic oxidoreductases and microbial biotechnology.
She has participated in more than 30 national and international research projects, including ten
European projects (FP3-FP7 and H2020), a cooperation project with Colombia (as coordinator) and a
collaborative project of US JGI-DOE. Since 2011, she coordinates the Spanish Thematic Network of
Biotechnology applied to Lignocelluloses (www.redlignocel.es).
The WoodZymes consortium covers the whole value chain from research to end-users
which will ensure rapid uptake and exploitation of the project results. With this purpose it brings
together one SME (MetGen)
specialized in the designing, production and supply of industrial enzymes for biomass conversion, three research groups
with high expertise on lignin biodegradation and oxidoreductases (CIB),
extremophilic hydrolases (IATA) and
chemical analysis of lignin and lignocellulosic materials (IRNAS);
three technological centres dedicated to developing more sustainable and cleaner processes for the pulp and paper industry
(CTP,
RAIZ)
or the forest(wood)-based sector (FCBA); as well as four
world-leading companies in the sectors of bleached eucalypt kraft pulp and printing paper
(Navigator), softwood kraft pulp
(FibEx), fibreboards
(FINSA) and insulation materials
(Soprema).
Woodzymes partners
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The Group of Biotechnology for Lignocellulosic Biomass
belongs to the Microbial and Plant Biotechnology Department of the Biological Research Center,
(Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas - CIB), the largest Biology institute of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC).
The group has extensive experience on lignin biodegradation by wood-rotting
basidiomycetes and their toolbox of oxidative enzymes. These oxidoreductases possess a great biotechnological potential and have been
widely investigated by the group, both from a basic level (enzyme biochemistry and structure-function relationships) to more applied
projects aiming to obtain tailor-made biocatalysts for specific applications using protein engineering tools.
The CIB contribution to WoodZymes is led by Dr Susana Camarero, CSIC Tenured Scientist with large experience in laccase ad
laccase-mediator systems (directed evolution and applications), who is also the Project Coordinator. She will be supported by
Prof Ángel T. Martínez, expert in oxidoreductases and microbial biotechnology who has coordinated seven EU projects, Dr Marta Pérez-Boada,
Project Manager in charge of the Project Secretariat (see Contact section) and Dr Francisco J. Ruiz-Dueñas, expert in heme peroxidases
(molecular biology, structure-function and engineering). Dr Alicia Prieto and Prof Mª Jesús Martínez are also involved in the project.
Ángel T. Martínez
Javier Ruíz-Dueñas
Marta Pérez-Boada
Role in the project
Within the project, CIB focuses on the application of new high-redox potential laccases and peroxidases with extremophilic
activity/stability profiles on different substrates. Further engineering of these enzymes by directed evolution or computer-aided
rational design to precisely enhance their activities under specific conditions is also envisaged.
The Group of Lignocellulosic Materials of Industrial Interest belongs to the Department of Plant Biotechnology at
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), one of the institutes
of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in the area of Agriculture. The group has high expertise in the chemical characterization of
lignocellulose biomass components such as lipids and lignin by different analytical techniques. Additionally, they have expertise in the
evaluation of the structural modifications of these organic fractions after industrial processing, and chemical or enzymatic treatments.
The contribution of IRNAS to WoodZymes will be led by Dr. Ana Gutiérrez, CSIC Research Scientist, current
Vice-director of IRNAS, recent elected member (2015) of the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS) (2015)
and of IAWS Academy board (2016), who has ~150 SCI articles (and several patents) mainly related to lignocellulose
chemistry and enzymatic modification of plant lipids and lignin. She has participated in the coordination of 6 EU
projects, and has been the responsible of several EU and National projects. Other members of the group are Prof.
José C. del Río, Dr. Jorge Rencoret, Dr. Gisela Marques, Dr. Alejandro González, Dr.
Esteban D. Babot, Andrés Olmedo and Carmen Aranda.
Role in the project
IRNAS will be in charge of the chemical analyses of lignins and lignin-derived compounds, during the enzymatic treatments performed by
MetGen and other partners. Simple compounds will be analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) while polymeric lignin will
be analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), among other techniques, informing about aromatic-unit composition and inter-unit linkages
in the hardwood and softwood lignins.
Centre Technique du PapierCTP is the French Industrial Technical Centre for the pulp & paper industry aiming to develop and transfer technical and scientific
knowledge through: research expertise and facilities at both laboratory and pilot-plant levels, interaction with the industry and close
co-operation with the other pulp & paper research institutes in Europe and worldwide, as well as with related national research laboratories.
Research and innovation activities cover the whole pulp & paper value chain, from pulping chemistry to new paper and fibre products with special
focus on new fibres for new uses, functional packaging, paper recycling, environmental and energy issues, printing and printed electronics.
CTP’s participation in WoodZymes is led by Dr Michel Petit-Conil, who has large experience in enzyme application in mechanical and chemical
pulping, pulp bleaching and chemical pulp refining. Dr Valérie Meyer and Dr Auphélia Burnet, senior scientists in lignocellulosic chemical
pulping and bleaching, are also involved in the project.
Dr Valérie Meyer
Role in the project
Within WoodZymes, CTP will take advantage of their wide experience in i) enzyme application on chemical pulping and bleaching
at laboratory and pilot scales; ii) extraction of natural molecules (lignin, hemicelluloses, cellulose and wood extractives) from different
lignocellulosic materials; iii) chemical characterisation of lignin, hemicelluloses and extractives; and iv) scaling-up of the laboratory results.
CTP will also contribute to project management being work package leader and to dissemination activities as Innovation Manager.
The French Institute of Forest-based and Furniture Sectors (FCBA) is a private R&I institute dedicated to the forest-based sector.. The institute is active in innovation, research and development,
standardisation, certification, technical assistance, consultancy, testing, training and information of public and private forest-based and
furniture stakeholders. FCBA covers a wide range of topics, including: forest management, genetic improvement of biomass production, nurseries,
harvesting and logistics, supply chains, wood products, saw mills, panel and board industries, cooperage, construction, furniture, pulp for paper
and other uses.
FCBA’s participation in WoodZymes is led by Dr Ing Michael Lecourt, ENSTIB engineer specialized in fibre processing for wood
industry applications. Other members involved include Dr Sandra Tapin-Lingua and Dr Ing Denilson da Silva as experts in
lignocellulosic materials and biotechnology development in the wood industry, together with Dr Ing Gérard Deroubaix,
Dr Anne-Laure Levet and Tifenn Guennec, dedicated to the environmental and socio-economic impact assessment.
FCBA InTechFibres team will be in charge of lab and pilot board production to evaluate the effect of enzyme addition at different stages of
the process. The environmental and socio-economic assessment will be managed by the Environment, Economy and Bio-Resources Department at FCBA,
with large expertise in the field of environmental and economic performance of wood transformation processes. FCBA will also contribute
to project management (being work package co-leader) and dissemination.
Role in the project
FCBA InTechFibres team will be in charge of lab and pilot board production to evaluate the effect of enzyme addition
at different stages of the process. The environmental and socio-economic assessment will be managed by the Environment,
Economy and Bio-Resources Department at FCBA, with large expertise in the field of environmental and economic performance of wood
transformation processes. FCBA will also contribute to project management (being work package co-leader) and dissemination.
Fibre Excellence (FibEx) is a leading market pulp producer in Southern Europe; with an overall 570 thousand tons capacity of
softwood pulp (70%) and hardwood pulp (30%), FibEx is the only 100% market pulp producer. FibEx operates two mills in the south of France:
i) Tarascon (South-East): 270 thousand tons production capacity, 100% bleached softwood kraft pulp; and ii) Saint-Gaudens (South-West):
300 thousand tons production capacity, 40% bleached softwood kraft pulp and 60% bleached hardwood kraft pulps. FibEx has worked for many years
on the valorisation of by-products of its paper mills. Indeed, a biorefinery demonstrator is starting up in Fibre Excellence Saint-Gaudens.
Marie-José Villete, Chemical Engineer with 30 years experience in pulp & paper industry and Dr Jérémy Boucher, R&D engineer, are involved in the project.
Role in the project
FibEx will supply the basic raw material (kraft black liquors, unbleached kraft pulps and oxygen delignification kraft pulps) required in
the project, as well as its know-how for the pulp refining contributing to the achievement of the project goals. FibEx is also interested
in studying the process parameters of the sulfur free cooking process on the quality of the lignin and the cellulose produced.
The optimised conditions will be used to produce soda black liquors from hardwood in the demonstration plant of FibEx located in St Gaudens. Subsequent oxygen delignification step will also be optimized, resulting in the production of an oxidized lignin, which could also present an interest for the end users.
FINSA France is a producer of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and a distributor of wood-based panels. The company is
equipped with a production plant with a capacity of 170.000 m3 and produces technical MDF panels including light, ultralight,
water repellent, flame retardant and zero formol products intended for furniture manufacturers in France and Europe. FINSA seeks
to diversify into growth markets such as construction and automotive.
Rachid Belalia, Head of the R&D department, is responsible for FINSA participation in the project.
Thierry Sanguina, Director of FINSA France Plant and Sebastian Labarriere, Director of Quality department, are also involved.
Role in the project
Within WoodZymes, FINSA aims to optimize the process to obtain the wood based panels by the application of the extremozymes developed
in the project. FINSA will deliver material to be tested (chips and fibres) and will realize the characterization of the prototype panels
created. They are interested also in wood based chemical building blocks produced from lignin and hemicelluloses to substitute fossil
resins in board manufacture reducing formaldehyde emissions and improving the process.
The Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de alimentos (IATA) is a research centre oriented to food science, technology and biotechnology that belongs to the CSIC.
The Laboratory of Enzyme Structure and Function
studies structural and functional aspects of biotechnologically relevant enzymes. Structure-based models and
crystallographic protein structures are used to analyse different aspects of enzyme performance such as substrate specificity,
resistance to denaturing agents, inhibition, etc. Bioinformatic analysis, directed evolution and rational design techniques are
used to engineer target enzymes for desired properties.
The group members involved in WoodZymes are Dr Julio Polaina, CSIC Research Scientist leading the Laboratory since 1995,
Dr Julia Marín-Navarro, expert in protein biochemistry, and Dr David Talens-Perales, expert in microbial biotechnology,
enzymology and bioinformatics.
Role in the project
The IATA group will focus on the identification, cloning and characterization of xylan degrading hydrolases according with the objectives of
the project, i.e. being active at high temperature and alkaline pH. The group will team up CIB and MetGen to select enzymes with the
best properties for the scaling up of their production.
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Contactinformation
Alex Michine MetGen Oy, Rakentajantie 26
20780 Kaarina; Finland Phone: +358405433740 E-mail: alex@metgen.com www.metgen.com
Profile & Expertise
MetGen is an innovative SME founded in 2008 which designs and markets novel enzymatic solutions - MetZyme®- for the most
challenging industrial conditions to meet customer specific needs. The company uses advances in genetic engineering and microbiology
to adapt enzymes to harsh industrial conditions and to handle a variety of lignocellulosic substrates. MetGen has achieved successful
industrial trials with sector leaders in forest and renewable chemicals and aims to be a widely recognized supplier of industrial enzymes,
significantly contributing to the economics and sustainability of process industries such as pulp & paper, biofuels and biochemicals.
MetGen’s CEO (Alex Michine), CTO (Matti Heikkilä) and R&D Director (Klara Birikh) are involved in the project,
together with the EU project manager (Petri Ihalainen) and several staff scientists (Veera Hämäläinen, Antoine Mialon,
Toni Grönroos, Anu Suonpää and Bastiaan Romein) with expertise in biotechnology applications, genetic and protein
engineering and fermentation technologies.
Matti Heikkila
Petri Ihalainen
Role in the project
In this project, MetGen will follow its existing development and IP strategy to provide the industry with enzymes needed to
convert lignocellulosic biomass to value-added chemicals. The main task is the development, characterization and production of tailor-made
enzymatic solutions in sufficient quantities for subsequent application testing of project focused applications areas. MetGen will also
contribute to sustainability assessment, project management as a work package leader and exploitation and dissemination activities.
The Navigator Company is the leading European manufacturer of uncoated wood free printing and writing
paper and the 6th largest producer in the world of BEKP (Bleached Eucalyptus kraft Pulp). Navigator
is operating three mills in Portugal with an annual production capacity of 1.6 million tons of paper, 1.4 million tons
of pulp (integrating 1.1 million of this on paper) and power generation of 2.5 TWh. One of the industrial sites is a
reference at the European level in the pulp and uncoated fine paper production due to the constant investment in its
operational efficiency and environmental performance, owning one of the largest and most sophisticated paper machines in the world.
Participation in WoodZymes is coordinated by Dr Paula Pinto, R&D Coordinator with more than 15 years experience as
researcher in biorefinery projects. Other members involved in the project are Fernando Martins,
M. Manuela Marques and Rui Pedro Pereira.
Role in the project
Navigator is in charge of supplying the other partners with black liquor from eucalyptus kraft pulping. Additionally,
Navigator will contribute with the necessary inputs to sustainability assessment and will participate in the definition of
the exploitation strategy. Navigator will also closely follow the activities related to the development of new applications
of lignin and hemicellulose-derived building blocks for the pulp and paper industry. They contribute to project management
being work package co-leaders.
RAIZ – Forest and Paper Research Institute is a non-profit association committed to support competitiveness of the Portuguese pulp
and paper industry with a wide activity of research on technological topics, forestry, consultancy, specialized analysis and assistance
for industry. The main technological research areas are: i) pulp and paper (raw materials, process optimization and final product quality
enhancement); ii) Environment and sustainability (efficiency of resources usage and minimization of environmental impact, and side
streams/residues upgrading); and iii) Biorefineries and bioproducts (new cellulosic materials, new lignin and carbohydrate materials,
structure/properties/application of lignin, and biofuels, biomaterials and bioactive compounds from biomass)
Leonor Guedes, Environmental Engineer with more than 30 years experience in pulp and paper research is responsible for RAIZ
participation in WoodZymes. Senior scientists Luís Machado and António Mendes de Sousa, Environmental and Chemical Engineers,
respectively, are also involved in the project.
Role in the project
RAIZ will contribute to the analysis of materials isolated after enzyme-assisted delignification and bleaching steps in terms
of their main constituents (e.g. lignin, sugars and inorganics). Equipment for pulp processing, paper production and surface treatment
is also available, including pulp refiners and semi-automatic paper hand sheet formers and a reverse roll coater. The application
of hemicelluloses-derived additives in papermaking will also be evaluated at RAIZ and compared to the standard papermaking procedures.
They will also contribute with the inputs for sustainability assessment.
SOPREMA is a family business company involved in building construction materials. It is one of the world leader companies
in thermal insulation materials with a wide range of products (polyurethane panels with 3 plants in the world) and a total turnover
of EUR 2.3 billion. The group operates in 90 countries and has 8 R&D centres focused on sustainable development that play a vital
role in the company’s aims to improve manufacturing and installation techniques.
Participation in the project is led by R&D Manger Rémi Perrin, Engineer in material science with more than 20 years of experience
in the R&D department management. Dr Stéphanie Laurichesse (expert in lignin applications), Dr Alexandru Sarbu
(in charge of PU foam formulation), Dr Jérémie Boucher (R&D manager for wood fibre insulation activities) and Sarah Mennuni
(lab technician) are also involved.
Stéphanie Laurichesse
Jérémie Boucher
Sarah Mennuni
Role in the project
The main role of SOPREMA is to convert fine wood fibres and lignin-derived phenols, obtained after enzyme-assisted depolymerisation,
delignification and bleaching of kraft pulp, into building insulation materials (wood fibre insulation boards and polyurethane foam).
A complete thermomechanical characterization of the foams obtained will be carried out. SOPREMA will also contribute to promote project
results usage and dissemination (being work package leader).