The chemical industry is facing a lot of problems: raw materials are getting more expensive and scarce, energy costs are rising, and there is increasing pressure from consumers and politicians to avoid toxic intermediates and waste, to curb emissions, and to reduce carbon dioxide.
Many of these problems can be addressed by biotechnology. Enzymes isolated from plants or microorganisms and bioengineered for optimum performance can catalyze reactions at reduced temperature, thereby saving energy and making production more eco-friendly. But white biotechnology as this area is called can also open up ways to turn biomass into ethanol, gas, or hydrogen and thereby save natural, nonrenewable resources.
This is not wishful thinking any more. "Development is clearly market-driven today," says Frank Eiden, executive director of ChemBioTec, a European network for sustainable biotechnology comprising 57 partners from big companies, small and medium enterprises, and research institutions. "Fossil fuel is limited, ...
