M.Gavrilescu.Y.Chisti Biotechnology Advances 23 (2005)471-499 475 chemical industry include its excessive reliance on nonrenewable energy and resources; environmentally damaging production processes that can be unsafe and produce toxic products and waste;products that are not readily recyclable and degradable after their useful life;and excessive regional concentration of production so that social benefits of production are less widely available. Chemical industry is large.The world's chemicals production in 2002 was in excess of 1.3 trillion.This industry consists of four major subsectors:basic chemicals,specialty chemicals,consumer care products,and life science products.Biotechnology impacts all these sectors,but to different degrees.Demarcation between sectors is not clearcut. General characteristics of these sectors are outlined in the following sections (OECD, 2001b). Basic chemicals or commodity chemicals represent a mature market.Most of the top 50 products by volume of production in this category in 1977 were still among the top 50 in 1993.During this period,the relative ranking by production volume of the products in this category remained largely unchanged(Wittcoff and Reuben,1996).The basic chemical industry is characterized by large plants that operate using continuous processes,high energy input,and low profit margins.The industry is highly cyclical because of fluctuations in capacity utilization and feedstock prices.The products of the industry are generally used in processing applications (e.g.pulp and paper,oil refining,metals recovery)and as raw materials for producing other basic chemicals,specialty chemicals, and consumer products,including manufactured goods(textiles,automobiles,etc.)(Swift, 1999). Specialty chemicals are derived from basic chemicals but are more technologically advanced and used in lesser volumes than the basic chemicals.Examples of specialty chemicals include adhesives and sealants,catalysts,coatings,and plastic additives. Specialty chemicals command higher profit margins and have less cyclic demand than basic chemicals.Specialty chemicals have a higher value-added component because they are not easily duplicated by other producers or are protected from competition by patents. Consumer care products include soaps,detergents,bleaches,laundry aids,hair care products,skin care products,fragrances,etc.,and are one of the oldest segments of the chemicals business.These formulated products are generally based on simple chemistry but feature a high degree of differentiation along brand lines.Increasingly,products in this category are high-tech in nature and developing them demands expensive research. Life science products.These include pharmaceuticals,products for crop protection and products of modern biotechnology.Batch production methods are generally used in making these products.The sector is one of the most research intensive and relies on advanced technology. 3.2.The applications of biotechnology in the chemical industry 3.2.1.Commodity chemicals At the basic level,life processes are chemical processes and understanding their chemistry provides a basis for devising manufacturing operations that approach nature's elegance and efficiency.Biotechnology uses the power of life to enable effective,rapid, safe and environmentally acceptable production of goods and services.chemical industry include its excessive reliance on nonrenewable energy and resources; environmentally damaging production processes that can be unsafe and produce toxic products and waste; products that are not readily recyclable and degradable after their useful life; and excessive regional concentration of production so that social benefits of production are less widely available. Chemical industry is large. The world’s chemicals production in 2002 was in excess of 1.3 trillion. This industry consists of four major subsectors: basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, consumer care products, and life science products. Biotechnology impacts all these sectors, but to different degrees. Demarcation between sectors is not clearcut. General characteristics of these sectors are outlined in the following sections (OECD, 2001b). Basic chemicals or commodity chemicals represent a mature market. Most of the top 50 products by volume of production in this category in 1977 were still among the top 50 in 1993. During this period, the relative ranking by production volume of the products in this category remained largely unchanged (Wittcoff and Reuben, 1996). The basic chemical industry is characterized by large plants that operate using continuous processes, high energy input, and low profit margins. The industry is highly cyclical because of fluctuations in capacity utilization and feedstock prices. The products of the industry are generally used in processing applications (e.g. pulp and paper, oil refining, metals recovery) and as raw materials for producing other basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, and consumer products, including manufactured goods (textiles, automobiles, etc.) (Swift, 1999). Specialty chemicals are derived from basic chemicals but are more technologically advanced and used in lesser volumes than the basic chemicals. Examples of specialty chemicals include adhesives and sealants, catalysts, coatings, and plastic additives. Specialty chemicals command higher profit margins and have less cyclic demand than basic chemicals. Specialty chemicals have a higher value-added component because they are not easily duplicated by other producers or are protected from competition by patents. Consumer care products include soaps, detergents, bleaches, laundry aids, hair care products, skin care products, fragrances, etc., and are one of the oldest segments of the chemicals business. These formulated products are generally based on simple chemistry but feature a high degree of differentiation along brand lines. Increasingly, products in this category are high-tech in nature and developing them demands expensive research. Life science products. These include pharmaceuticals, products for crop protection and products of modern biotechnology. Batch production methods are generally used in making these products. The sector is one of the most research intensive and relies on advanced technology. 3.2. The applications of biotechnology in the chemical industry 3.2.1. Commodity chemicals At the basic level, life processes are chemical processes and understanding their chemistry provides a basis for devising manufacturing operations that approach nature’s elegance and efficiency. Biotechnology uses the power of life to enable effective, rapid, safe and environmentally acceptable production of goods and services. M. Gavrilescu, Y. Chisti / Biotechnology Advances 23 (2005) 471–499 475