Biotechnology is also used in industry. Various microbes and enzymes are used to complete different industrial processes. Enzymes are biological compounds, usually proteins, that cause and enhance biological reactions. A wide variety of metabolic and digestive enzymes function in living cells and the human body. These same enzymes can also be produced on a large scale by microbes. They are widely used in food preparation, detergents and to replace toxic chemicals.

The dirt-removing properties of enzymes are used in laundry detergents, where they cause dirt to come off without hot water. In the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater, the most important employees of the water treatment plant are microbes. They live in the wastewater, feed on organic matter (faeces and urine) and convert water-eutrophic nitrogen compounds back into atmospheric nitrogen (N2).

Microbes can also be used to clean oil accidents and to purify seawater. Microbes can also be used to clean soil from gasoline, wood preservatives or herbicides. In the mining industry, metals can be "removed" from rock with the help of microbes. 

Microbes can also be used to make biofuels. Microbes have been made to produce butanol (C4H10) from wood and industrial waste, which can be used as fuel for cars.

The use of molds in industry

Item	Explanation
Jeans	The appearance of stonewashed jeans is obtained by treating the jeans with the cellulase enzyme that cleaves the cotton fibers of Trichoderma mold.
Laundry detergents	Mold cellulase enzymes improve the ability to remove dirt.
Olive oil	Mold enzymes increase the amount of oil obtained from olives.
Soy sauce	Soybeans are treated with mold, the enzymes of which break down soy.
Antibiotics	Including the mold Penicillium.
Pharmaceutical and food products	Genetically modified molds are used to produce cholesterol-lowering products and vitamins.