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Other industries (Environmental health) Marine biotechnology has applications in industry sectors other than health, cosmetics, energy, food, and aquaculture sectors. This study looks at the industrial applications of marine biotechnology, in particular those that have a marine focus, these include environmental protection, depollution (bioremediation) and antifouling, as well as industrial products used in the marine environment, such as underwater bioadhesives. There are a range of enzymes, biopolymers, biomaterials, and other bioactive compounds which are derived from marine organisms that can be used industrial applications. The usefulness of marine derived ‘products’ stems from their unique properties and functions which are the result of the huge biological, chemical and genetic diversity displayed by marine life and their symbiotic nature, especially those microorganisms found in extreme marine environments (extremophiles). Value chains specific to other industries Figure 0.31 Value chains specific to other industries The specific value chains for industrial products and processes vary depending on the marine resource utilised and the final application. However, the steps of the discovery and research and development stages do not differ significantly from the other industry sectors in that they are very much focused on the collection, cultivation, extraction and analysis that all marine resources are subject to before their potential in an industrial application is realised. Development also involves the up-scaling and commercialisation of products to allow for bulk production and manufacture. Potential products areas currently in research and development stage There are a number of product areas that in which enzymes, biopolymers, biomaterials, and other bioactive compounds which have the potential to be utilised in a number of industries and are currently being researched. A selection of these product areas are described below: Environmental protection and depollution sector (bioremediation) Anthropogenic activity has led to considerable quantities of contaminants including crude and petroleum oil products, hydrocarbons and halogenated compounds entering marine environments. Researchers have been trying to identify bacteria sourced from microbial populations from the marine environment that can metabolise certain types of hydrocarbons as so could be used to break down pollutants without negatively impacting the marine ecosystem. Bioremediation can be approached with two methods: bioaugmentation or biostimulation, and the method used depends on the specific case. Bioaugmentation involves the introduction of oil degrading microorganisms to the contaminated area while biostimulation involves the addition of supplemental nutrients to the contaminated area to assist the naturally existing oil degrading microorganisms. Biostimulation is thought to be more effective as, unlike bioaugmentation, it allows for a growth of microorganisms and degrades a larger amount of hydrocarbons205. Biosurfactants (BS), bioemulsifiers (BE) and exopolysaccharides (EPs) produced by marine microorganisms are an attractive alternative to synthetic compounds for use in bioremediation as 205 Radermacher, Matt. "Bioremediation of Marine Oil Spills." Iowa State University Available: http://home. eng. iastate. edu/~ tge/ce421-521/matt-r. pdf. 154 Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology

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