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Green Chemistry and Its Contribution to Industrial Biotechnology

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Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment in Industrial Biotechnology

Part of the book series: Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology ((ABE,volume 173))

Abstract

Sustainable chemistry is a broad framework that starts with the function that a chemical product is offering. Not only chemical but also economic and ethical aspects come into focus throughout the complete lifecycle of chemical products. Green chemistry is an important building block for sustainable chemistry and addresses the issue of greener synthesis and, to a certain degree, the more benign properties of chemicals. The principles of green chemistry clearly aim at making chemical reactions and processes more environmentally friendly. Aspects such as atom efficiency, energy efficiency, harmless reactants, renewable resources, and pollution prevention are considered. Despite the progress made toward a “greener” chemistry, biotechnological processes, as processes for the conversion of biomass into value-added products, have not been properly adapted to new developments. Processes used in industrial biotechnology are predominantly linear. This review elaborates on the potential contributions of green chemistry to industrial biotechnology and vice versa. Examples are presented of how green chemistry and biotechnology can be connected to make substrate supply, upstream and downstream processing, and product formation more sustainable. The chapter ends with a case study of adipic acid production from lignin to illustrate the importance of a strong connection between green chemistry and biotechnology.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany

    Daniel Pleissner & Klaus Kümmerer

Authors
  1. Daniel Pleissner
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  2. Klaus Kümmerer
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Correspondence to Daniel Pleissner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TUM Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Straubing, Germany

    Magnus Fröhling

  2. Department of Business Chemistry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Michael Hiete

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Pleissner, D., Kümmerer, K. (2018). Green Chemistry and Its Contribution to Industrial Biotechnology. In: Fröhling, M., Hiete, M. (eds) Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment in Industrial Biotechnology. Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology, vol 173. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/10_2018_73

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