Environmental biocatalysis: from remediation with enzymes to novel green processes

Modern biocatalysis is developing new and precise tools to improve a wide range of production processes, which reduce energy and raw material consumption and generate less waste and toxic side-products. Biocatalysis is also achieving new advances in environmental fields from enzymatic bioremediation to the synthesis of renewable and clean energies and biochemical cleaning of “dirty” fossil fuels. Among the obvious benefits of biocatalysis the major hurdles hindering the exploitation of the great repertoire of enzymatic processes are, in many cases, the high production costs and the low yields obtained. This article will discuss these issues, pinpointing specific new advances in recombinant DNA techniques for future biocatalyst development, as well as drawing the attention of the biotechnology scientific community to the active pursuing and developing of Environmental Biocatalysis, covering from remediation with enzymes to novel green processes.This material is based upon work founded by European Union project MERG-CT-2004-505242 “BIOMELI”, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science projects BIO2002-00337, VEM2004-08559 and CTQ2005-08925-C02-02/PPQ, Comunidad de Madrid project GR/AMB/0690/2004, CSIC Project 200580M121 and the company ViaLactiaBiosciences Ltd. (New Zealand).Peer reviewe