• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.495-507
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• 2009

As we move into the 21st century, the importance of marine resources is certain to increase due to the accelerated exhaustion of land resources. For the sustainable development of the world, therefore, we need to develop marine chemical bioindustries which enable us to produce industrial chemicals, advanced materials, fuels, and minerals from marine resources such as seaweeds and seawater. In this review, we selected five marine chemical bioindustries which include 1) seaweed polysaccharide industry, 2) marine advanced materials industry, 3) marine biofuel industry, 4) marine sea salt industry, and 5) deep-sea water industry, and discussed the current status and future prospects of each industry sector. It has been assessed that the future of marine chemical bioindustry looks very promising although there are many needs for more intensive research investments on marine bioprocess development through close cooperation between marine biologists and biochemical engineers.