title: Industrial biotechnology for the production of bio-based chemicals--a cradle-to-grave perspective.
abstract: Shifting the resource base for chemical production from fossil feedstocks to renewable raw materials provides exciting possibilities for the use of industrial biotechnology-based process tools. This review gives an indication of the current developments in the transition to bio-based production, with a focus on the production of chemicals, and points out some of the challenges that exist in the large-scale implementation of industrial biotechnology. Furthermore, the importance of evaluating the environmental impact of bio-based products with respect to their entire life cycle is highlighted, demonstrating that the choice of the raw material often turns out to be an important parameter influencing the life cycle performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Centre for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Lund University, Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. rajni.hatti-kaul@biotek.lu.se
authors.forename: Rajni
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hatti-Kaul
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Törnvall
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Börjesson
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000379:methods*; D004777:Environment
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products