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How Industrial Biotechnology Can Help Consumers and the Environment
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by Jason Rupp
Industrial biotechnology and its many current and future benefits to society will be highlighted during the first-ever "World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing" April 21-23, 2004, at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Fla. The conference is expected to bring the biotechnology, chemical and agricultural industries together with government officials and academics.
This new international conference, which is being jointly hosted by BIO, the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the National Agriculture Biotechnology Council (NABC), will focus on how industrial biotechnology is being used to transform manufacturing, chemical synthesis, and energy production, while at the same time decreasing pollution. The conference also will focus on how agricultural wastes, such as those derived from corn stalks and rice, are being used to create new consumer goods. The theme of the conference is "Linking Biotechnology, Chemistry and Agriculture to Create Value Chains" in an effort to highlight the opportunities this burgeoning industry has to radically alter the manner in which companies produce products.
A Look at the Latest Developments
The three-day World Congress is designed to spread the message to all stakeholders and bring together participants from industry, government and academia from all over the world to exchange ideas and examples of how industrial biotechnology can be applied in daily practice and to provide a unique forum for interdisciplinary interaction and networking. The conference will also provide an overview of the technological developments and new trends in industrial biotechnology and examine the barriers that must be overcome to advance the concept of a bio-based economy.
Technical sessions on topics such as biotechnology in manufacturing and synthesis, bioprocessing of agricultural feedstocks, bioenergy production, biotechnology's effect on climate change, marine biotechnology, developments in the nanotechnology-biotechnology interface, and national defense applications are among those planned for the conference.
"In the past three years, novel uses of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics have revolutionized many aspects of our lives from how consumer goods are produced to chemical production and industrial manufacturing processes," said Brent Erickson, BIO's vice president for industrial biotechnology. "The convergence of biotechnology, agriculture and chemistry has created a business sector that can bring improvements to society in so many ways, and this conference will demonstrate exactly how."
These new technologies demonstrate the positive contributions that industrial biotechnology can offer in three keys areas of sustainability: society, the environment and the economy.
Everyday Benefits to Society
An example where industrial biotechnology has benefited society while protecting the environment include laundry detergents that use enzymes, such as proteases to remove protein stains, lipases that remove grease stains and amylases that remove starch stains. All these enzymes were created using biotechnology and dramatically increase the efficacy of the product, while reducing energy needs and pollution. Specifically, the use of these enzymes results in cleaner, brighter clothes, while reducing energy usage and water pollution.
More recent advances include the creation of biodegradable plastics, which were used to make biodegradable cups for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. These cups were made with Natureworks PLA, a biodegradable plastic resin manufactured by Cargill Dow. Other examples of consumer goods made using biotechnology include new methods for creating vitamins and pharmaceuticals, stonewashed jeans which use enzymes instead of crushed pumice stone to fade and soften the fabric, and production of bioethanol from previously unused agriculture residues and waste.
For more information about the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, go online at www.bio.org/worldcongress.
Jason Rupp is BIO's manager for industrial and environmental biotechnology.
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