Using Industrial Biotech Saves Energy and Combats Climate Change

The use of renewable energy to combat climate change and the possible depletion of fossil energy was recently studied by a group of scientists headed by G. B. Herman of Utrecht University, Netherlands. The study analyzed the current and future technology routes leading to the the development of 15 bulk chemicals using industrial biotechnology. The calculated CO2 emission and fossil fuel energy use showed that a savings of more than 100% nonrenewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are already possible with the current state of the art biotechnology. It is however predicted that further savings are possible with future improvements in fermentation and downstream processing.

To maximize savings, the study recommended that sugarcane, lignocellulosic materials, and cornstarch be used as feedstocks. The products with the highest savings using industrial biotechnology are acrylic acid, butanol, ethanol, ethylene, 1,3- propanediol and polyhydroxyalkanoates. It is apparent from the results of the study that using industrial biotechnology to produce bio-based chemicals can contribute to the reduction of climate change and the depletion of fossil energy.

For details, see the paper at  http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/esthag/2007/41/i22/pdf/es062559q.pdf