Industrial biotechnology
Encyclopedia
Industrial biotechnology (known mainly in Europe as white biotechnology) is the application of biotechnology
for industrial purposes, including manufacturing, alternative energy (or "bioenergy"), and biomaterials. It includes the practice of using cells
or components of cells like enzymes to generate industrially
useful products. The Economist
speculated (as cited in the Economist article listed in the "References" section) industrial biotechnology might significantly impact the chemical industry
. The Economist also suggested it can enable economies to become less dependent on fossil fuel
s.
The industrial biotechnology community generally accepts an informal divide between industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology. An example would be that of companies growing fungus to produce antibiotics, e.g. penicillin from the penicillium fungi. One view holds that this is industrial production; the other viewpoint is that it would not strictly lie within the domain of pure industrial production, given its inclusion within medical biotechnology.
This may be better understood by calling to mind the classification by the U.S. biotechnology lobby group, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) of three "waves" of biotechnology. The first wave, Green Biotechnology, refers to agricultural biotechnology. The second wave, Red Biotechnology, refers to pharmaceutical and medical biotechnology. The third wave, White Biotechnology, refers to industrial biotechnology. In actuality, each of the waves may overlap each of the others. Industrial biotechnology, particularly the development of large-scale bioenergy refineries, will likely involve dedicated genetically modified crops as well as the large-scale bioprocessing and fermentation as is used in some pharmaceutical production.
Industrial biotechnology and climate change
Climate change
effects on the developing country
populations and its relation to industrial biotechnology present an opportunity of setting a foundation for a transition to and industrial economy via mitigation options set about in the Kyoto protocol
. The relationship between industrial biotechnology and climate change cuts across three major spheres of climate change science and policy: impacts, mitigation, and adaptation. The impacts of a changing climate on agriculture
and land use
will affect the availability of biomass
as well as food production. Developing country populations will suffer disproportionately, especially since some of the regions that may be most negatively affected are located in small island states and in already impoverished areas of sub-Saharan Africa
.With respect to mitigation, the expansion of industrial biotechnology can offer new opportunities for fossil fuel substitution and carbon sequestration. If genetic modification is employed, the linkages to both mitigation and adaptation would be even more direct. A given crop might be adjusted so as to yield better characteristics for energy production (e.g. more fibre, faster growth, less lignin). With respect to adaptation, varieties might be developed that require less water or are otherwise more suited to the new climate. Biomass and industrial biotechnology can address GHG
emissions while at the same time providing a more sustainable foundation for the developing world’s transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy.
Novel implementation platforms and identification of existing technologies that are under-utilised or inefficiently utilised will generally be preferred to developing new technologies, particularly in smaller and/or poorer developing countries.
The following options could be considered:
• Improving the efficiency of biomass to energy conversion (e.g. advanced cogeneration
,
biomass gasification
)
• Creating biomass resource options from agricultural or process wastes
• Use of agricultural or process wastes as inputs to industrial processes
• Substitution for products made from fossil sources (e.g. fertilisers, bio-plastics)
The above options tend to have medium-to-large economies-of-scale. Alternatively, in the context of poverty reduction in rural areas, there may be a preference for options aimed at expanding energy services (e.g. biogas for cooking) and/or creating income-generating opportunities (e.g. small-scale agro-industrial plants). At the same time, smaller-scale options with many end-users require more effort for replication
and dissemination
, and thus entail higher transaction costs. Detailed analysis of impacts, adaptation, and enhanced sequestration
are quite complicated and beyond the scope of this report. Mitigation options through the Kyoto mechanisms (Emissions Trading
, Joint Implementation
, and CDM) are of greatest near-term interest, not only because of the opportunities to obtain financial support, but also because expanded platforms for industrial biotechnology can address long-term sustainable development goals at the same time that they offer greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Since only Annex 1 parties
have Kyoto obligations, Emissions Trading and JI are only indirectly related to developing country crediting via the linkages from GHG credits that are generated.
Industrial or white biotechnology uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make bio-based products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and bioenergy (such as biofuels or biogas). In doing so, biotechnology uses renewable raw materials and is one of the most promising, innovative approaches towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The application of industrial biotechnology has been proven to make quite significant contributions towards mitigating the impacts of climate change in these and other sectors. In addition to environmental benefits, biotechnology can improve industry performance and product value and, as the technology develops and matures, white biotechnology will yield more viable solutions for our environment. These innovative solutions bring added benefits for both our climate and our economy.
Industrial biotechnology is based on renewable resources, can save energy in production processes, and can significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The impact that biotechnology has on industry is confirmed by scientific studies and reports, such as the OECD’s report on the application of biotechnology to industrial sustainability and, most recently, by the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) report on the potential of industrial biotechnology to cut CO2 emissions and help build a greener economy.
The WWF report concludes that the full climate change mitigation potential of biotechnology processes and bio-based products ranges from between one billion and 2.5 billion tons CO2 equivalent per year by 2030. This represents more than Germany’s total reported emissions in 1990. Many low-carbon technologies are already available, and future innovations offer greater potential. Forward-thinking companies have already discovered the potential of biotechnology to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However, in order to fully realise the potential of biotechnology it will be critical that international policy creates a fully supportive biotechnology legislative framework.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
for industrial purposes, including manufacturing, alternative energy (or "bioenergy"), and biomaterials. It includes the practice of using cells
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
or components of cells like enzymes to generate industrially
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
useful products. The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
speculated (as cited in the Economist article listed in the "References" section) industrial biotechnology might significantly impact the chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
. The Economist also suggested it can enable economies to become less dependent on fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s.
The industrial biotechnology community generally accepts an informal divide between industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology. An example would be that of companies growing fungus to produce antibiotics, e.g. penicillin from the penicillium fungi. One view holds that this is industrial production; the other viewpoint is that it would not strictly lie within the domain of pure industrial production, given its inclusion within medical biotechnology.
This may be better understood by calling to mind the classification by the U.S. biotechnology lobby group, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) of three "waves" of biotechnology. The first wave, Green Biotechnology, refers to agricultural biotechnology. The second wave, Red Biotechnology, refers to pharmaceutical and medical biotechnology. The third wave, White Biotechnology, refers to industrial biotechnology. In actuality, each of the waves may overlap each of the others. Industrial biotechnology, particularly the development of large-scale bioenergy refineries, will likely involve dedicated genetically modified crops as well as the large-scale bioprocessing and fermentation as is used in some pharmaceutical production.
Industrial biotechnology and climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
Climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
effects on the developing country
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
populations and its relation to industrial biotechnology present an opportunity of setting a foundation for a transition to and industrial economy via mitigation options set about in the Kyoto protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
. The relationship between industrial biotechnology and climate change cuts across three major spheres of climate change science and policy: impacts, mitigation, and adaptation. The impacts of a changing climate on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and land use
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
will affect the availability of biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
as well as food production. Developing country populations will suffer disproportionately, especially since some of the regions that may be most negatively affected are located in small island states and in already impoverished areas of sub-Saharan Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.With respect to mitigation, the expansion of industrial biotechnology can offer new opportunities for fossil fuel substitution and carbon sequestration. If genetic modification is employed, the linkages to both mitigation and adaptation would be even more direct. A given crop might be adjusted so as to yield better characteristics for energy production (e.g. more fibre, faster growth, less lignin). With respect to adaptation, varieties might be developed that require less water or are otherwise more suited to the new climate. Biomass and industrial biotechnology can address GHG
GHG
GHG can be an abbreviation for:* Greenhouse gas* George H. Goble, inventor of multi-CPU Unix systems, refrigerants, and winner of the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry.* Marshfield Municipal Airport in Marshfield, Massachusetts....
emissions while at the same time providing a more sustainable foundation for the developing world’s transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy.
Novel implementation platforms and identification of existing technologies that are under-utilised or inefficiently utilised will generally be preferred to developing new technologies, particularly in smaller and/or poorer developing countries.
The following options could be considered:
• Improving the efficiency of biomass to energy conversion (e.g. advanced cogeneration
Cogeneration
Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....
,
biomass gasification
Gasification
Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures , without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam...
)
• Creating biomass resource options from agricultural or process wastes
• Use of agricultural or process wastes as inputs to industrial processes
• Substitution for products made from fossil sources (e.g. fertilisers, bio-plastics)
The above options tend to have medium-to-large economies-of-scale. Alternatively, in the context of poverty reduction in rural areas, there may be a preference for options aimed at expanding energy services (e.g. biogas for cooking) and/or creating income-generating opportunities (e.g. small-scale agro-industrial plants). At the same time, smaller-scale options with many end-users require more effort for replication
Replication
Replication may refer to:Science* Replication is one of the main principles of the scientific method, a.k.a. reproducibility** Replication , the repetition of a test or complete experiment...
and dissemination
Dissemination
To disseminate , in terms of the field of communication, means to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional view of communication, which involves a sender and receiver...
, and thus entail higher transaction costs. Detailed analysis of impacts, adaptation, and enhanced sequestration
Sequestration (law)
Sequestration is the act of removing, separating, or seizing anything from the possession of its owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state.-Etymology:...
are quite complicated and beyond the scope of this report. Mitigation options through the Kyoto mechanisms (Emissions Trading
Emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
, Joint Implementation
Joint Implementation
Joint implementation is one of three flexibility mechanisms set forth in the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets meet their obligations. JI is set forth in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol...
, and CDM) are of greatest near-term interest, not only because of the opportunities to obtain financial support, but also because expanded platforms for industrial biotechnology can address long-term sustainable development goals at the same time that they offer greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Since only Annex 1 parties
have Kyoto obligations, Emissions Trading and JI are only indirectly related to developing country crediting via the linkages from GHG credits that are generated.
Industrial or white biotechnology uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make bio-based products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and bioenergy (such as biofuels or biogas). In doing so, biotechnology uses renewable raw materials and is one of the most promising, innovative approaches towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The application of industrial biotechnology has been proven to make quite significant contributions towards mitigating the impacts of climate change in these and other sectors. In addition to environmental benefits, biotechnology can improve industry performance and product value and, as the technology develops and matures, white biotechnology will yield more viable solutions for our environment. These innovative solutions bring added benefits for both our climate and our economy.
Industrial biotechnology is based on renewable resources, can save energy in production processes, and can significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The impact that biotechnology has on industry is confirmed by scientific studies and reports, such as the OECD’s report on the application of biotechnology to industrial sustainability and, most recently, by the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
(WWF) report on the potential of industrial biotechnology to cut CO2 emissions and help build a greener economy.
The WWF report concludes that the full climate change mitigation potential of biotechnology processes and bio-based products ranges from between one billion and 2.5 billion tons CO2 equivalent per year by 2030. This represents more than Germany’s total reported emissions in 1990. Many low-carbon technologies are already available, and future innovations offer greater potential. Forward-thinking companies have already discovered the potential of biotechnology to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However, in order to fully realise the potential of biotechnology it will be critical that international policy creates a fully supportive biotechnology legislative framework.