Bioconversion of Waste Materials to Industrial Products

The recycling of resources is becoming a valid and viable activity and is increasingly mentioned as a solution to some of the most pressing problems which will affect mankind's economic performance. Bioconversion of wastes is the natural way to return to the environment the resources previously extracted from it. The development of technologies for the bioconversion of wastes to industrial products is needed due to the present and future levels of population densities and their increasing demands. This book is designed as a study of the biotechnological methods for the recovery of wastes, emphasizing the recycling objective of the bioconversion - the production of industrial products from wastes. In conducting this study, it is this book's objective that its various chapters deal with the scientific and technological bases of the bioconversion involved, the problems and advantages associated with each, the products arising from the operations, and future trends and possibilities.
Although the bioconversion processes have been traditionally applied to products of biological origin, such as agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and food processing wastes, the present volume also deals with areas where novel bioconversion processes are also applicable, such as some mineral and hydrocarbon based industrial operations. The contents of the book have been organized into two sections. Section one is oriented more towards the principles or fundamentals of the bioconversion operations, while section two considers the characteristics of the main groups of waste materials and the specific technologies for bioprocessing and recycling them. It should be of interest to academic, industrial and scientific communities, including ecologists and environmentalists, administrators, consultants and governments.