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Biotechnology can help revitalize America’s manufacturing industries.
Industrial and environmental biotechnology applies the techniques that have transformed healthcare
and agriculture to manufacturing processes, energy production and pollution prevention. These
technologies can improve efficiency, reduce costs,make American manufacturing more competitive
and reduce dependence on imported oil. In addition, industrial biotech is producing new materials,
such as bioplastics, that are leading to new and better consumer products.
Many products your constituents use every day are already improved or made with
industrial and environmental biotechnology —including laundry detergent, packaging
materials, vitamins and leather goods, and even clothing.
The Pipeline
In what has been dubbed the Third Wave
of biotechnology, biotech enzymes and cell systems are replacing chemical processes that often
consume vast amounts of energy and water while generating toxic byproducts. Industrial biotechnology
also holds the keys to unlocking energy from waste biomass — such as agricultural crop residues,
sawdust and some forms of municipal waste — thereby reducing greenhouse emissions and dependence
on foreign oil.
Biofuel
New enzymes are under development that catalyze
production of biathanol — a cleaner-burning fuel — from agricultural wastes such as corn stalks and
rice straw. These sources could generate 40 billion gallons of ethanol per year — a 13-fold increase
over current corn-based production. The first shipment of waste-based biofuel was delivered in April
2004. Biotechnology companies are also developing enzymes that can help recover difficult-to-extract
oil from existing wells.
Polymers
Biotechnology could cut petrochemical use in
plastic manufacturing 20 to 80 percent, the equivalent of a week’s worth of oil imports each year.
The technology can also make synthetic fibers and textiles, already in use for everything from carpet
to designer jackets.
Food Safety
Biotech enzymes have long been used to process
a variety of foods, including beer, cheese and vegetable oils. Now enzymes are being developed to make
foods safer. For example, a biotech enzyme now in testing could remove cancer-causing acrylamide from
a variety of cooked carbohydrate-rich foods, including baked goods and chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is industrial biotechnology?
Industrial biotechnology
is the use of microbes and biotechnology processes to improve manufacturing and create or enhance
consumer products.
How can it help the environment?
Industrial biotechnology
frequently replaces toxic chemicals, finite resources and high-energy processes with cells, enzymes
and other biological materials — which are biodegradable, low in energy requirements and typically
reduce unwanted byproducts. In some cases, enzymes, cells or plants are used to absorb toxins and
convert them to non-hazardous compounds. Biotechnology researchers also have created new processes to
convert agricultural waste and other biomass to ethanol — potentially saving billions of gallons of
oil per year.
How can it help the economy?
By reducing raw material and
energy requirements, biotechnology processes often reduce costs. For example, a biotech process for
making Vitamin B cut costs by 50 percent. Looking at the bigger picture, industrial biotechnology
offers a route to sustainable development, that is, economic growth that relies on renewable resources.
How can industrial biotech contribute to energy independence and
greenhouse gas reduction?
Using biotech enzymes to convert agricultural waste — such as
corn stoves and wheat straw — into ethanol, we can reduce our dependence on imported oil by tapping a
readily available resource available throughout much of the nation and most abundantly in the Midwest.
In fact, America’s 190-260 million tons of agricultural waste could replace up to 10 percent of the
gasoline we use. An added bonus: Plant-based ethanol produces almost zero net carbon dioxide emissions.
How can it help farmers and rural economies?
Biomass-based
ethanol production provides farmers with a second “crop” — in the form of agricultural waste — for
every field, potentially lifting profits 15 to 18 percent. Moreover, the local biorefineries needed to
process America’s agricultural waste into ethanol and other byproducts would generate new construction,
manufacturing and distribution jobs, helping revitalize rural economies.
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