Lipid biotechnology: Industrially relevant production processes

The biotechnological transformation of vegetable oils and animal fats has been successfully developed up to an industrial scale in recent years. However, biotechnology is still a niche technology in the oleochemical industry, which classically relies on chemical transformation processes. Nevertheless, the impact of biotechnology is rising, with,in increasing number of biotech-based products, especially in the area of lipid-derived specialties, entering the market. In this review we give a summary of the industrially relevant processes in the field of lipid biotechnology.