Biologicals price competition

To be competitive in price, the production of bulk chemicals by biological means requires among others, the use of available, cheap, and metabolically acceptable raw material. These should allow for high productivity and final concentration of the desired metabolite. For simple and straightforward downstream processing, negligible formation of side products, and minimal use of other chemicals are important. 

M gor suppliers of laboratory equipment handle microbiological media as well. Brands such as Difco, and BBL (Baltimore Biological Laboratories) are routinely available. Others brands include Oxoid (now marketed in North America by Unipath, a division of UL Canada, Inc. Ogdensburg, NY). For price-conscious individuals, house-brand formulations of routine media are also available from most major suppliers at very competitive prices. 

Other than direct re-use, some processing such as mechanical, chemical or biological is involved to recycle waste into products, requiring the consumption of certain amount of energy, additional raw materials, and causing the emission of waste into the air, water and soil. Once a recycled product is made, it must be marketed. Is there a reasonable demand Is it cost-competitive The next challenge concerns the availability of waste to be processed. Is there a consistent supply at reasonable price, especially when production is at full capacity ... 

In 1944, KolfF et al. [8] demonstrated the first successful artificial kidney. Since then, the use of membranes in artificial organs has become a major life-saving procedure. Membrane systems are competitive with conventional biological treatment in terms of price and cost. 

At the low selling price of butadiene, it is difficult to see how biologically produced material could be made cost competitive. Perhaps the greatest potential for 2,3-BD may lie in higher-value specialty product uses in such industries as chemical, pharmaceutical, and personal care. Better understanding of the market opportunity is necessary as well as further development of the various 2,3-BD chemical conversion processes. 

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