Chapter 12: White Biotechnology Flashcards
What term describes a system where renewable biomass feedstock is acted on by microbes to produce useful materials that can be harvested out?
Biorefineries
What type of biotechnology uses microbial conversion of low-cost biomass to products with a higher value and industrial use?
White Biotechnology
What type(s) of renewable biomass can be used to produce cellulose/hemicellulose?
Sawdust, Straw
What type(s) of renewable biomass can be used to produce oil?
Grease
What are three broad categories of products that microbiological processes can convert cellulose/hemicellulose into?
Bioplastics, Fuels, Chemicals
What microbe can ferment sugar to produce ethanol?
Fungi
What is another term for the ethanol produced via microbe fermentation?
Biofuels
What type of feedstock requires pretreatment to break down cellulose and hemicellulose to liberate sugars for biofuels?
Cellulosic biomass feedstock
What type of feedstock requires enzymatic treatment to make into suitable substrate for efficient fermentation in biofuels?
Starch-based feedstock
What part of some feedstocks make them more difficult to break down than others?
Lignin
What alternative biofuel can be used in internal combustion engines and has properties more similar to gasoline than ethanol?
Butanol
What are two examples of bioplastic that can be made by microbes?
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)
What type of bioplastic is a microbial food source in times of starvation?
PHAs
What parts of a plant are researchers trying to localize PHA production to?
Leaves, Stems
What is used from microbes in the production of high fructose corn syrup, laundry detergents, odor removers, etc?
Enzymes
