Primer on Bioproducts - BIOCAP Canada

Some bioproducts do not require biomass as a raw material.Instead, they use inorganic raw materials, but involve industrialtechniques that use biological enzymes or microbial processingduring their manufacture.Identifying the IssuesThe arrival of new bioproducts in the lives of most Canadianscould go unnoticed. For example, people who add a biobasedcream to their cosmetic bags, or a biodetergent to their householdcleaning products, may be unaware that these products are partof a raw material and process shift by industry.For many people, the strongest indication that Canada’s industryand economy are undergoing fundamental change will be publicdebates in the media concerning the environmental, health, socialand ethical implications of the increased industrial use of biomassand the attendant technologies used by bioproducts industries. Inthis regard, it is likely that negative implications about the use ofbiomass will also be discussed in light of continued fossil fuel useand associated pollution and climate change issues.The appropriate use of land and water resources is an issue thathas arisen from the development of industrial bioproducts. Goodarable land is limited, and the question is whether we can growcrops for industry and still have enough land available to growfood. Similar questions have arisen in the forest sector. Changesin the way land and water are currently used can haveenvironmental consequences and create conflicts among users.FermentationFermentation is a process that usesmicro-organismsto perform a chainof biochemical reactions that turnsugar into other products, such asalcohols and organic acids. Beforestarchy biomass sources (e.g., corn)can be fermented, the starches firstneed to be broken down into simplesugars. This is usually done byexposing the biomass to hightemperatures after adding anenzyme to act as a catalyst. Oncethe starches have been brokendown, a micro-organism, such asyeast, is added. The micro-organismdigests the sugars and producescarbon dioxide and othercompounds. The micro-organismspecies used during fermentationdepends on the desired endproduct. For example, a yeastcalled saccharomyces cerevisiae isused to ferment corn and sugarcane into fuel ethanol. This is thesame species that has been usedfor centuries in brewing and baking.Other concerns relate to conflicts about ensuring that the risks andbenefits of bioproduct development are fairly distributed. Someorganizations, including the ETC Group of Winnipeg (formerlythe Rural Advancement Foundation International), fear thatinadequate patent laws and other biotechnology regulationsensure that large corporations, rather than rural communities andPRIMER ON BIOPRODUCTS13