Bioprocessing is the use of biological means, such as the action of enzymes or other microorganisms, to treat various materials using a set of defined procedures. When this process is used to treat starch-based biomass, it is referred to as starch bioprocessing. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, found in cereal crops like wheat and corn. Because starch-containing biomass forms the basis of many lubricants, fuel additives, and other biochemicals commonly sold on the market, starch bioprocessing is often used in product manufacturing, in the conversion of waste materials to useful by-products, and in the breakdown of waste materials.

Separation technologies have a major impact on manufacturing costs in chemical, biochemical, food, biomedical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.Technologies have been successfully used to develop new processes for the purification of insulin, antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, and antiviral drugs. New processes have been developed for the isolation of sugars from biomass hydrolysate. The recovered sugars can be fermented to produce ethanol (clean fuel) and other fine chemicals

Desizing is the process of removing the size material from the warp yarns in woven fabrics. Enzymatic desizing is the classical desizing process of degrading starch size on cotton fabrics using enzymes. Enzymes are complex organic, soluble bio-catalysts, formed by living organisms, that catalyze chemical reaction in biological processes. Enzymes are quite specific in their action on a particular substance. A small quantity of enzyme is able to decompose a large quantity of the substance it acts upon. Enzymes are usually named by the kind of substance degraded in the reaction it catalyzes. Amylases are the enzymes that hydrolyses and reduce the molecular weight of amylose and amylopectin molecules in starch, rendering it water soluble enough to be washed off the fabric. Effective enzymatic desizing require strict control of pH, temperature, water hardness, electrolyte addition and choice of surfactant.

Solvents, defined as substances able to dissolve or solvate other substances, are commonly used in manufacturing and laboratory processes and are often indispensable for many applications such as cleaning, fire fighting, pesticide delivery, coatings, synthetic chemistry, and separations . Billions of pounds of solvent waste are emitted to the environment annually, either as volatile emissions or with aqueous discharge streams. Many of these solvents are known to upset our ecosystems by depleting the ozone layer and participating in the reactions that form tropospheric smog. In addition, some solvents may cause cancer, are neurotoxins, or may cause sterility in those individuals frequently exposed to them. While contained use of these solvents would be acceptable from both an environmental and a health perspective, such operations are difficult to achieve, and alternative solvents are currently being sought to minimize the problems inherent in solvent release to the environment

A hormone is a chemical messenger that carries a signal from one cell to another. All multicellular organisms produce hormones; plant hormones are also called phytohormones. Hormones in animals are often transported in the blood. Cells respond to a hormone when they express a specific receptor for that hormone. The hormone binds to the receptor protein, resulting in the activation of a signal transduction mechanism that ultimately leads to cell type-specific responses.Endocrine hormone molecules are secreted (released) directly into the bloodstream, while exocrine hormones (or ectohormones) are secreted directly into a duct, and from the duct they either flow into the bloodstream or they flow from cell to cell by diffusion in a process known as paracrine signalling.

Peptides are chains of amino acids. In nature there are 21 natural L- amino acids that, in various combinations and permutations, make up the peptides and proteins of living things. Virtually every life process involves peptides in some way. Their key role is to regulate body functions such as the release of hormones, the regulation of blood sugar levels, bone metabolism and various neurological processes. Chains containing more than approx. 100 amino acids are generally called proteins.Peptides play a key role in the growing segment of biopharmaceuticals. Peptide-based drug targets are being identified at an increasingly rapid pace and a variety of new peptide drugs are being developed as novel therapies for cancer, pain treatment, viral infections, diabetes and a host of endocrine and neurological disorders.

A biocide is a chemical substance capable of killing different forms of living organisms used in fields such as medicine, agriculture, forestry, and mosquito controlBiocides can also be added to other materials (typically liquids) to protect the material from biological infestation and growth. For example, certain types of quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) can be added to pool water or industrial water systems to act as an algicide, protecting the water from infestation and growth of algae. Chlorine can be added in low concentrations to water as one of the final steps in wastewater treatment as a general biocide to kill micro-organisms, algae, etc.

Biofertilizer is defined as a product containing carrier based (solid or liquid) living micro-organisms which are agriculturally useful in terms of nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization or nutrient mobilization, so as to increase the productivity of the soil and/or the crop. These broadly include the nitrogen fixers (symbiotic and nonsymbiotic bacteria), phosphate solubilizing fungi & bacteria & the mycorrhizal fungi that are capable of mobilizing nonlabile nutrients from soil & transporting them to and across plant roots. Azospirillum species do not form root nodules or associate with leguminous crops. They live inside plant roots where they fix nitrogen, and can be used in wetland conditions. This group of microorganisms also produce beneficial substances for plant growth, besides fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Azospirillum does well in soils with organic matter & moisture content, and requires a pH level of above 6.0. Azospirillium led to saving of 15-25 kg equivalent of N2 per hectare.