By MICHELLE CHAMBERLAI
A BYU graduate has been recognized and rewarded for developing an enzyme that can be used for stone washing jeans, cleaning products and laundry detergents.
The award-winning technology was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, owned by the U.S. government.
Craig Dees, head of the molecular toxicology group, said the technology will have many commercial uses, mainly in textile finishing. He said not only will this enzyme allow stone washing clothes to become a simple and quick process, but it will eliminate 'fuzzies' from knit fabrics.
The enzyme resists attacks of protease -- enzymes that destroy proteins -- which makes it ideal for its second use, including cleaning products and laundry detergents.
The additional uses for the enzyme are drain cleaners, clean-up of paper processing wastes, producing alternative fuel from paper and wood waste and converting woody materials to animal feed.
Dees said he was working on a project unrelated to current usage of the enzyme when he discovered it. During the same time, Dees found that a microorganism related to the enzyme had been categorized incorrectly more than 50 years ago.
Dees has been able to rename the microorganism and has been made a vice president over a company that has purchased the patent from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the use of the enzyme.
Joe Colver, director of public affairs for the laboratory, said they have more than 1,500 employees who have their doctorates in engineering or a division of science and they submit more than 100 patents a year from the discoveries made at their laboratory.
Colver said many of their discoveries do not progress as far as this particular enzyme has. He said this one has great opportunities in the commercial world