Biocatalysts for the Epoxidation and Hydroxylation of Fatty Acids and Fatty Alcohols

Whereas most products of the chemical industry are based on petrochemical feedstocks, considerable efforts have been made during the past few decades to use renewable resources as industrial raw materials. Besides polysaccharides and sugars, plant oils and animal fats play an important role in such programs because of their ready availability (present production is >100 million t/a, which could be increased on demand) of which the lion’s share is used for nutrition (∼85 million t/a), whereas ∼15-20 million t/a are used for the synthesis of polymers, surfactants, emollients, lubricants, bio-diesel, emulsifiers, etc.1