Biotechnology in production and environmental protection - conserving resources
For millions of years processes have run sparingly and efficiently in bacteria - many of which the chemical and pharmaceutical industry uses today for their production. In this way white biotechnology helps to take over from usual chemical production steps or revolutionise whole manufacturing procedures. This applies even more as micro-organisms can be made to measure for the needs of the industry due to breeding, selection and genetic engineering processes.
Biochemical processes take place at atmospheric pressure and room temperature in contrast to many physical and chemical processes. Therefore the use of micro-organisms or their components in industrial manufacturing and production processes saves raw materials and energy. At the same time there are often less by-products or waste. Everyday example: the use of enzymes in washing powder. Enzymes are biological catalysts, which enable chemical processes or accelerate them, without being exhausted. Even the smallest amounts of these small biocatalysts completely break down protein, fat and starch at low washing temperatures. By now some of the enzymes were genetically modified so that they can carry out their work unimpeded even in the presence of bleaching agents or tensides.
Biotechnological procedures open up new possibilities in agriculture, above all in the production of raw materials. Faced with an increasing lack of resources and threatening climate change, renewable raw materials for production processes and energy and fuel production are increasing in significance. With the help of genetic engineering plants can be modified so that the composition of the oil extracted from them is altered. These can be adjusted to the relevant field of application, according to whether the plant oil will be used for the production of varnishes, paints, lubricants or as an additive for plastic, paper and rubber.
Furthermore genetic engineering procedures have advantages in the production of fuel. Here the building plan for the amylase enzyme was transferred to corn, which breaks starch down into sugar. This modification facilitates the process of producing bioethanol as a fuel and increases its effectiveness.
Biotechnology makes an important contribution to environmental protection, not just through sparing resources in industrial production, but also by cleaning up environmental damages such as contaminated grounds or water pollution. Pollutants are broken down by micro-organisms in a target orientated way and made innocuous. For this task either biocoenosis of microbes - comparable to those in sewage plants or genetically modified bacteria can be used. The latter are equipped with genes from other organisms for example in order to break down the pollutants, which lend the bacteria new skills for the conversion of chemical compounds.
