Technology News - June 23, 2004

Biotechnology for pollution prevention

Genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) have the potential to dramatically reduce industrial pollution, according to a report by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), an industry group. New Biotech Tools for a Cleaner Environment, which was released in June, claims that using such organisms and enzymes in place of traditional technologies is a cost-effective way to prevent the creation of pollution. For example, GEOs can produce ethanol from crop residues, and the resulting fuel generates 8–10 times as much energy as required for production. GEOs could also help textile mills reduce water usage by 30–50% and improve the pharmaceutical industry’s process for producing riboflavin (vitamin B2) by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80% and water by 67%, according to BIO. The report claims that the benefits of using GEOs outweigh their risks in industrial settings, because the engineered organisms are contained and the chances that they will be accidentally released into the environment are minimal. The report is at www.bio.org/ind/pubs/cleaner2004/CleanerReport.pdf.