Creating Products and Services in Industrial Biotechnology

Abstract

Biotechnologies represent a set of enabling technologies that find application in various industrial and economic sectors. There are more and more companies that, while operating in “traditional” fields, integrate biotechnological products and technologies into their production processes, in order to improve their quality and yield and reduce their environmental impact. Not surprisingly, no production process is less invasive for the environment than natural processes from which biotechnology originates. Biocatalysis has now fully entered into all industrial sectors and is crucial for the development of sustainable chemistry. It is based on the use of bioprocesses mediated by microorganisms or enzymes capable of accelerating the speed of the reaction without the production of toxic substances and on the use of mild temperature conditions. Biocatalysis has therefore become a valuable tool, not only for its lower environmental impact, but also as it is increasingly becoming a cost-effective alternative to classical chemical processes. Biocatalysis is now used in a variety of fields, from the pharmaceutical and food sectors to the production of biofuels to the restoration and conservation of cultural heritage. Bioeconomy is the challenge that Europe is taking on for the establishment of a new model of sustainable development, capable of generating value and employment. This new type of industry will therefore implement traditional processes with biotechnological processes with the aim being both to enhance its production yields and standards and to lower its impact on the environment.