An entire branch of biotechnology, known as 'white biotechnology', is devoted to this. It uses living cells—from yeast, moulds, bacteria and plants—and enzymes to synthesize products that are easily degradable, require less energy and create less waste during their production. This is not a recent development: in fact, biotechnology has been contributing to industrial processes for some time. For decades, bacterial enzymes have been used widely in food manufacturing and as active ingredients in washing powders to reduce the amount of artificial surfactants. Transgenic Escherichia coli are used to produce human insulin in large-scale fermentation tanks. And the first rationally designed enzyme, used in detergents to break down fat, was introduced as early as 1988. The benefits of exploiting natural processes and products are manifold: they do not rely on fossil resources, are more energy efficient and their substrates and waste are biologically degradable, which all helps to decrease their environmental impact. Using alternative substrates and energy sources, white biotechnology is already bringing many innovations to the chemical, textile, food, packaging and health care industries. It is no surprise then that academics, industry and policy makers are increasingly interested in this new technology, its economy and its contributions to a sound environment, which could make it a credible method for sustainable development. click here to download the book