Products from Biotechnological Processes

A study commissioned by the EU in 2006 on biotechnological production of bulk chemicals from renewable resources [37] investigates 21 bulk chemicals using LCA for environmental assessment. Systems boundary is cradle-to-gate based on a functional unit of 11 of product. In addition, waste management is assessed where credits for energy recovery are accounted. As feedstock, crops for production 

For some novel processes, only limited or uncertain data are available. 

Composites from natural fibers (e.g., hemp, flax, cellulose) and polymers are Hght-weight compounds with good mechanical properties which make them interesting for specific sectors of appUcation, notably the transportation sector. Due to the specific appUcation area, LGA of composites focuses not only on the materials but also on specific products for these application areas, covering the use phase of products. 

Corbiere-Nicollier et al. investigate transport pallets made of composites from China reed fiber used as a substitute for glass fiber [43]. The crucial factor of the assessment is the lifetime of the pallets the authors mention the need to optimize the process of fiber extraction in order to obtain a better material stiffness. For conventional pallets, a lifetime of 5 years is assumed. Environmental advantages for the transport pallets reinforced with China reed fiber are found if the pallet s lifetime is greater than 3 years. These advantages result from the substitution of the glass fiber production, from the reduction of polypropylene, and from the reduced weight of the pallet. For end-of-Ufe, incineration is the preferred option. 

A lack of mechanical properties of PHB composites is reported but not reflected in the use phase. 

---

The recovery of products from biotechnological processes has traditionally been focused on bench-scale separation approaches, such as electrophoresis or column liquid chromatography. These methods are dilScult to scale up to production levels and often become prohibitively expensive for medium-and low-value products. 

A similar system, the "concertation procedure" is already in place and is obligatory for products from biotechnological processes. The CPMP becomes involved as soon as the first application in any member state is lodged. One country s agency acts as rapporteur and prepares a full evaluation report, other countries provide "monitoring reports". Based on these reports and the expert reports in the dossier, the CPMP summarizes its assessment in an opinion report which is considered by the national authorities, before they make their decision. 

In this work, the kinetics and operational parameters used in the acrylic acid production from biotechnological process were analyzed, bearing in mind that high operational... 

Production and quality control of cytokine products derived from biotechnological processes (2/1990)... 

Regulation No. 2309/93. The system is available for New Active Substances of either chemical or biological nature. It is the only system in the European Community for the registration of products derived from biotechnological processes, whereas for NCEs and organically/natu-rally sourced biologicals there is an alternative system available - the MRP. The CP supersedes the previous Concertation Procedure, which existed in parallel with another European Community procedure... 

Except for perhaps the manufacture of cocoa butter substitutes, enzymatic interesterification processes have been confined to laboratories and pilot plants. The reasons are partially due to the relatively low value of products from these processes and more importantly to the many difriculties in solving the engineering problems of bioreactor designs for efficient, continuous processes. Application of biotechnology and computer aided techniques in bioreactor designs are consequently used to find solutions to these problems. The ultimate aim is to produce cost effident process designs for manufacturing products of even subtle value at competitive production costs to chemical catalysis. 

Potential consumer benefits from biotechnology (56) are cost and quaUty. The use of biotech means to increase the level of various sulfur-containing amino acids in coffee proteins, and to enhance sucrose and oil levels, could have an impact on the flavor and aroma of the finished ground coffee product. Also, caffeine level modification/elimination through genetic manipulations of the coffee plant could yield low caffeine coffee without additional processing by the manufacturer. 

The recovery of caustic from hemiceUulose (qv) ia the rayon process was well estabUshed ia the 1930s (18), and is still used ia modem times (19) (see Pulp). Very few new iadustrial appHcations of dialysis emerged duriag the 1940—1980 period. More recendy, iaterest has reawakened ia isobaric dialysis as a unit operation for the removal of alcohol from beverages (20,21) and ia the production of products derived from biotechnology (22,23). 

Biotechnological processes may be divided into fermentation processes and biotransformations. In a fermentation process, products are formed from components in the fermentation broth, as primary or secondary metabolites, by microorganisms or higher cells. Product examples are amino acids, vitamins, or antibiotics such as penicillin or cephalosporin. In these cases, co-solvents are sometimes used for in situ product extraction. 

In this chapter we describe the use of pea seeds to express the bacterial enzyme a-amylase. Bacterial exoenzymes like the heat stable a-amylase from Bacillus licheni-formis are important for starch hydrolysis in the food industry. The enzymatic properties of a-amylase are well understood [13,14], it is one of the most thermostable enzymes in nature and it is the most commonly used enzyme in biotechnological processes. Although fermentation in bacteria allows highly efficient enzyme production, plant-based synthesis allows in situ enzymatic activity to degrade endogenous reserve starch, as shown in experiments with non-crop plants performed under greenhouse conditions [12,15]. Finally, the quantitative and sensitive detection of a-amylase activ-... 

---