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The negotiability of CO2 emission rights is now a fact and the first penalties for exceeding the norms soon will become effective. This is expected to result in a fundamental change in perception on the use of raw materials and energy consumption. It is clear that renewable raw materials that are CO2 neutral, such as biomass, will benefit from this development. Changing Consumer Perceptions and Behavior In most developed societies, there is a growing demand from consumers for information about the products they buy and this goes beyond quality and price.

Organic chemistry was flourishing at the time, and these opponents of the theory of living microbial origins were initially quite successful in putting forth their views. 1), which not only advanced microbiology as a distinct discipline, but also led to the development of vaccines and concepts of hygiene which revolutionized the practise of medicine. In 1850, Casimir Davaine detected rod-shaped objects in the blood of anthraxinfected sheep and was able to produce the disease in healthy sheep by inoculation of such blood.

Enzymatic Processes and Enzyme Technology Enzymes are catalytically active proteins that have evolved and were perfected over billions of years of evolution. As very specific and efficient catalysts, they direct the chemistry of life without needing the extreme temperatures, high pressures, or corrosive conditions that are often required in chemical synthetic processes. Enzymes are the machinery of the living world and their amazing properties are increasingly used for industrial applications. This technical discipline is referred to as biocatalysis [15].