Available online at www.sciencedirect.com BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES ELSEVIER Biotechnology Advances 23(2005)471-499 www.elsevier.com/locate/biotechadv Research review paper Biotechnology-a sustainable alternative for chemical industry Maria Gavrilescu*,Yusuf Chistib Department of Environmental Engineering and Management.Faculty of Industrial Chemistry. Technical University lasi,7!Mangeron Blvd,700050 lasi,Romania bInstitute of Technology and Engineering.Massey University.Private Bag 11 222.Palmerston North. New Zealand Received 23 November 2004;received in revised form 23 March 2005;accepted 23 March 2005 Available online 24 May 2005 Abstract This review outlines the current and emerging applications of biotechnology,particularly in the production and processing of chemicals,for sustainable development.Biotechnology is "the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents".Some of the defining technologies of modern biotechnology include genetic engineering: culture ofrecombinant microorganisms,cells of animals and plants;metabolic engineering;hybridoma technology:bioelectronics:nanobiotechnology;protein engineering:transgenic animals and plants; tissue and organ engineering;immunological assays;genomics and proteomics;bioseparations and bioreactor technologies.Environmental and economic benefits that biotechnology can offer in manufacturing,monitoring and waste management are highlighted.These benefits include the following:greatly reduced dependence on nonrenewable fuels and other resources;reduced potential for pollution of industrial processes and products;ability to safely destroy accumulated pollutants for remediation of the environment;improved economics of production;and sustainable production of existing and novel products. 2005 Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved. Keywords:Industrial sustainability;Biotechnology;Chemicals;Biocatalysts;Environment *Corresponding author.Tel.:+40 232 278683x2137;fax:+40 232 271311. E-mail address:mgav@ch.tuiasi.ro (M.Gavrilescu). 0734-9750/S-see front matter 2005 Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved doi:10.1016f.biotechadv.2005.03.004Research review paper Biotechnology—a sustainable alternative for chemical industry Maria Gavrilescua,*, Yusuf Chistib a Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, Faculty of Industrial Chemistry, Technical University Iasi, 71 Mangeron Blvd, 700050 Iasi, Romania b Institute of Technology and Engineering, Massey University, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North, New Zealand Received 23 November 2004; received in revised form 23 March 2005; accepted 23 March 2005 Available online 24 May 2005 Abstract This review outlines the current and emerging applications of biotechnology, particularly in the production and processing of chemicals, for sustainable development. Biotechnology is bthe application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agentsQ. Some of the defining technologies of modern biotechnology include genetic engineering; culture of recombinant microorganisms, cells of animals and plants; metabolic engineering; hybridoma technology; bioelectronics; nanobiotechnology; protein engineering; transgenic animals and plants; tissue and organ engineering; immunological assays; genomics and proteomics; bioseparations and bioreactor technologies. Environmental and economic benefits that biotechnology can offer in manufacturing, monitoring and waste management are highlighted. These benefits include the following: greatly reduced dependence on nonrenewable fuels and other resources; reduced potential for pollution of industrial processes and products; ability to safely destroy accumulated pollutants for remediation of the environment; improved economics of production; and sustainable production of existing and novel products. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Industrial sustainability; Biotechnology; Chemicals; Biocatalysts; Environment 0734-9750/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2005.03.004 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +40 232 278683x2137; fax: +40 232 271311. E-mail address: mgav@ch.tuiasi.ro (M. Gavrilescu). Biotechnology Advances 23 (2005) 471 – 499 www.elsevier.com/locate/biotechadv