Once useful enzymes are discovered and improved, they can be produced in commercial quantities using either naturally occurring or genetically enhanced microbes (GEMs). If necessary, enzymes can be improved with biotechnology techniques, such as gene transfer, gene shuffling, directed evolution or metabolic engineering. Once identified, enzymes can be characterized for their ability to function in specific industrial processes. Companies search for enzyme-producing microorganisms in the natural environment (bioprospecting) and then use genomic and proteomic studies and tools to fish for genes that express enzymes with specific biocatalytic capabilities. Industrial biotechnology companies use life-science techniques to find and improve nature's enzymes or develop diverse microbial systems – from bacteria, yeasts, and fungi to marine diatoms and protozoa – for use in industrial applications. These characteristics can be exploited to increase the energy efficiency and improve the environmental profile of chemical reactions used in manufacturing. Because enzymes have precise chemical selectivity, they may also use less purified raw materials.
Nature's enzyme-based processes operate at lower temperatures, and produce less toxic waste and fewer emissions than conventional chemical processes. Living systems manage their chemistry more efficiently than man-made chemical refineries, and most of the wastes they generate are recyclable or biodegradable. New techniques, such as synthetic biology, can potentially speedup the development and commercialization of industrial biotech processes, making them attractive and affordable to manufacturers. Industrial biotechnology's enabling of integrated biorefineries that produce multiple product and value streams is viewed as potentially transforming the economics of industrial production. Further, industrial biotechnology can reduce carbon emissions through improved process efficiency, the displacement of fossil fuels and petroleum-based materials, and the creation of closed loop industrial systems that eliminate waste. These processes can often construct products faster and in a resource- and environmentally sustainable manner at reduced cost, while using less energy. But an increased understanding of, and ability to restructure, fermentation processes and microbial metabolic systems has allowed researchers to expand the application and engineering of microbes and enzymes into a broader variety of industrial processes. A growing number of companies are now focusing on specialty chemicals as an entry point to build the bio-based economy.Ĭurrently there are many examples of microbial processes and renewable agricultural materials used in producing material goods, including cheese making and other fermentations. Early efforts to lay a roadmap for biological production of chemicals from renewable sugars focused on those that would provide co-products for integrated biorefineries producing biofuels and bioenergy as the primary product.
While biofuels have attracted a great deal of interest among the public, press and policy makers, renewable chemicals represent another major opportunity to commercialize industrial biotechnology in existing markets, at lower capital costs, and with potentially higher returns. Industrial biotech represents the third wave in biotechnology, following innovation in the health care and agricultural sectors. In most cases, industrial biotech tools allow industry to develop new industrial manufacturing processes that are cleaner and better for the environment with reduced economic costs. But the evolution of our ability to manipulate microbial genomes has revolutionized the field of biotechnology and produced a rapid increase in innovation for industrial uses. Mankind has been using microbial processes for producing foods and other goods since Neolithic times. Microbes, microorganisms, enzymes and their genetic engineering form the basis of a suite of technologies and processes that a diverse group of companies, researchers and scientists are seeking to develop for commercial use. Industrial biotechnology encompasses the application of biotechnology-based tools to traditional industrial processes (“bioprocessing”) and the manufacturing of bio-based products (such as fuels, chemicals and plastics) from renewable feedstocks.
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