download Several thousand enzymes are currently recognized and used. Enzymes in our bodies are the catalysts that make our parts function. Enzymes are found in cosmetics shampoos, detergents, cleaning agents and a multitude of other products that make them function more efficiently. Soil enzymes are a natural element which catalyzes soil bacteria reactions with nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and other soil nutrients. (1)
Duplicate enzymes are manufactured by the fermentation process to produce Permazyme 11X. An enzyme is by definition a catalyst which rapidly carries a chemical reaction to completion without becoming a part of the end product. To better understand what is happening in the case of the enzymes in Permazyme 11X we can look at the compaction of the clays in silts in nature, i.e. formation of shales.
A similar process takes place when Permazyme 11X is added to soil and aggregate for the purpose of compaction which will occur at a greatly increased reaction rate. Processes that normally take millions of years are rushed through in a matter of hours and days.
In a natural reaction such as takes place between clays and organic materials to 'waterproof' the clay, large quantities of organic materials are required. Stimulating this action in soil bacteria with Permazyme 11X provides a means for a soil faction of crushed aggregates, with a small amount of clay, to react in a similar way in three to five days. This bio-technique is initiated when Permazyme 11X is introduced into the system and stimulates the carbon dioxide in the air which is needed by the natural bacteria in the clay enabling them to multiply by the millions.
Permazyme 11X combines with organic molecules to form a reactant intermediary which exchanges with the clay lattice breaking down the clay structure and causing a shrinking effect which prevents any further absorption of water or resultant swelling with loss of density. (2) The enzyme is regenerated by the action and goes on to perform again. Because the ions are very large, little osmotic migration takes place and intimate mixing is required which is aided by the destructive effect of the organic ions in the clay lattice. Compaction of the clay/aggregate mass near optimum moisture by construction equipment produces the high densities characteristic of shales.
High densities, along with ingredients in the fermentation process which neutralize the negative valance in the clay lattice to create bonding, (3), are essential to the process, particularly with lower clay content. The resultant surface has many of the characteristics of a solid/durable shale yet is produced in a fraction of time required by nature.
References
(1) R.G. Burns, Soil Enzymes, Academic Press, N.Y. 1978 pp 298-305
(2) Ralph E. Grim, Clay Mineralogy, Mc Graw Hill, 1968, pp 214, 224, 264, 401, 553
(3) California Department of Transportation, Division of New Technology Research, 1993