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333 particularly since the situation could change several times
over the course of the years, depending on the trend in raw
mate rial prices. Moreover, biotechnologically produced chemicals
are not necessarily superior when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. It depends on the method of production.
On the other hand, the legislation enacted in recent years and
government subsidies have unquestionably favored advancement
of biotechnology. “Because of these measures, there is a good
chance that the scope of industrial production will double in the
next few years,“ said Kaiser. Nevertheless, this should not give
people false hope. Aside from the high investment required, the
long time-to-market, and society’s skepticism regarding sustainability,
so far very few products based on biotechnology that
enable new functionalities have successfully been placed on the
market.
Martin Todd, managing director of LMC International, illustrated
just how complex the decision for or against a certain raw
material for a biotechnological process can be. The British company
is a consultant to companies in agribusiness all over the
world. “The demand for renewable carbon sources is increasing
rapidly, thanks to fast economic growth and the desire to replace
fossil sources.” As a result, raw material prices have climbed because
arable land has had to be expanded to create „more expensive
areas,“ the rising cost of crude oil has increased the production
costs of farmers, and because of the widespread use of
biofuels, whose prices directly correlate with rising crude oil
prices.
“This is why the prices for renewable carbon sources will
follow those of fossil carbon sources,” said Todd. The dynamics
vary, however, for reasons that include energy content (when
compared to crude oil, vegetable oils have a 1 to 1 content, while
ethanol is 0.7 to 1 in the same comparison), the pricing politics
of the Brazilian government, which mean that fuel prices in that
country can differ greatly from world prices, and economically
attractive byproducts (such as glycerin) that occur in the production
of biofuels. “Because of their high energy content,
vegetable oils are likely to be more expensive than carbohydrates,
especially because they are many times more land intensive
and their potential crop areas are geographically limited,”
BIoteCHnoLoGY 29
The technology demonstra
tion facility of Butamax,
a joint venture of
BP and DuPont, with a
specified nominal capacity
of 37,000 liters
biobutanol per year
said Todd. “When it comes to carbohydrates, a resource like sugar
cane is a less obvious topic for the ‚Food vs. Fuel‘ debate, but
it also requires arable land, obviously.”
Simplified production processes,
thanks to biocatalysts
Jack Staloch does not believe that there is a food shortage currently,
but does believe that “food is lacking in the right places.”
Staloch is a vice president of the agricultural multinational Cargill,
and worldwide head of the Biotechnology Development
Center. For the last four years, there has been a law in the United
States that stipulates a threefold increase in the use of biofuels
as a share of fuel consumption by 2022. Fifty billion liters were
produced in the United States last year—half of the world‘s production,
and more biofuel than ever before.
Owing to its biotechnological expertise, Cargill is also active
in this segment, though it is far from its only field of activity.
“Biotechnology accounts for about four percent of our sales,”
said Staloch. The company has core competencies in fermentation,
enzymes, separation and engineering. “Thanks to biotechnology,
we can develop new products and processes, or
lower production costs,” said Staloch.
A good example is the production of lactic acid. To extract
lactic acid following bacterial production, lime and sulfuric acid
had to be added to the fermentation broth. But with Cargill’s
newly developed yeast bacteria, sugar can now be fermented to
lactic acid without the same amount of additional chemicals—and
at the same production rates and yields. To find the right biocatalyst,
Cargill researchers tested about 1,200 yeast strains.
They then modified the best candidates before ultimately transferring
the fermentation to the production level. “We also recognized,
however, that this yeast strain makes a good fermentation
platform for other applications,” said Staloch, “such as
organic acids for plastics and synthetic fibers.”
Ray W. Miller, Global Business Development Manager in the
Applied Bio Sciences Division at DuPont, stressed that chemical
companies operating in the field of biotechnology have to have
a lot of patience. A pioneer in industrial biotechnology,
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elements35 Issue 2|2011