White Biotech Needed to be Known
All the branches of biotechnology classified on the basis of color have their own characteristics and importance.
Meanwhile, white biotechnology has its own unique significance in converting energy production from biological sources and regulating more sustainable industrial processes.
White biotechnology has also become a reliable alternative to replace the polluted fumes and pollutants emitted by today’s increasing industrialization. It also conducts research on particular organisms to obtain useful chemicals and enzymes.
This technology can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases. In addition, white biotechnology is now used to produce laundry detergent enzymes, penicillin and insulin substitutes, as well as many vaccines and drugs.
Following are the Application of White Biotech:
| S.N | Application of White Biotech |
|---|---|
| 1. | Metabolite Production |
| 2. | Waste Treatment |
| 3. | Bio-Control Agents Production |
| 4. | Biofuel |
| 5. | Metals Recovery |
Metabolite Production
Metabolites are the product of cellular metabolism. Some primary metabolites are used to make medicines like antibiotics while secondary metabolites are used as medicine, flavoring and recreational medicine.
After separating the metabolites from plants and any living thing through white biotechnology, it is further studied and brought into possible use.
Some flavoring, edible colors, organic acid alcohols, antibiotics, enzymes, and vitamins can be produced from such metabolites.
Waste Treatment
Today, increasing industrialization and urbanization have contaminated the environment. The management of garbage emitted from industries, factories, hotels, vehicles, other engines, houses and every sector is challenging.
White biotechnologies use biological methods to treat wastewater in various ways such as filters, oxidation ponds, bio-filters and anaerobic as well as composting, bio-trickling filters and bio-sorption for solid wastes, while biological methods are also used to treat gas emissions.
In this way, on the one hand, the environment is clean and on the other hand, there is a supply of sewage to the crops.
Bio-Control Agents Production
While incessant research and invention has brought human civilization to the forefront, there are innumerous challenges against human civilization. The use of unnecessary chemicals has created harmful insects which have created risks especially in our agricultural system.
Despite the invention of many chemical drugs to kill such insects, even more resistant insects have been evolved. Since some insects even take our lives, there is no alternative to destroying them. Biotechnology seems to have a very beneficial strategy to deal with this problem. It has a biological control strategy under white biotechnology that does not use chemicals that are ultimately harmful to the entire universe.
According to this method, other insects, weeds, plants, parasites and other natural strategies are adopted. Although classical, inductive and inoculative, the strategy is to identify and mobilize natural enemies to destroy such unnecessary and harmful insects. It also benefits the ecosystem and is also very important from an environmental point of view.
Biofuel
The use of fuel has become as essential to our daily lives as food. But the fuels we use like diesel, petrol, coal and natural gases are polluting the environment every moment. Polluted gases and smokes emitted from factories are harming us in many ways and has also become a major cause of global warming.
The cholesterol contained in cooking oil is also harmful to our health. Therefore, with the immense success of scientists in finding alternatives to such risky fuels, important inventions such as ethanol, biodiesel, green diesel, and biogas have been made from biomass through contemporary processes.
Such renewable energies are also considered to be beneficial for the whole world as they are environmentally friendly.
Metals Recovery
Generally, metal means any hard substance which is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Metal is used to make tools used in daily life, to make any electrical goods, as jewelry or for various purposes. But sometimes due to our negligence or sometimes due to other reasons, the metal can deteriorate or decay.
Although we can easily buy metal, it is not easy to obtain. It can be obtained from some mines but it also needs to be processed. Metal can also be obtained from biological sources through bioleaching and bio-sorption methods.
For example, in bioleaching, metals can be extracted from large amounts of low-grade iron ore. In some cases these can also be obtained from substances produced by bacteria, such as sulfuric acid and ferric iron.
Metals like iron, copper, uranium can be obtained by bioleaching method On the other hand micro-organisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, and molds are used to obtain metals from bio-sorption methods in water from industrial areas.