Biochemical Engineering
Lecture 1:
Introduction to Biochemical Engineering
Vitor Magueijo
Chemical and Process Engineering
vitor.magueijo@strath.ac.uk
Content
History of biochemical engineering
Current applications
Features of bioprocessing plants
Assignment description/rules
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Content
History of biochemical engineering
Current applications
Features of bioprocessing plants
Assignment description/rules
3
History
~1700 BC – First mention of industrial use of micro-organisms.
– Sumerian tablet describing beer brewing method
~350 BC – First organisation of living things into classes
– Aristotle: Historia Animalium
1665 – Microscope used to study cell structure of plants.
– Robert Hooke: Micrographia (coined the term “cell”)
1735 – Modern biological classfication scheme was invented.
– Linnaeus: Systema Naturae)
1796 – First vaccination against human disease.
– Jenner: small pox
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History
1839 – Theory that all living matter is composed of cells.
– Theodor Schwann (also discovered organic nature of yeast and invention of the term
metabolism)
1857 – Discovery that growth of Microorganisms responsible for fermentation.
– Pasteur (Also showed growth of microorganisms responsible for spoiling beverages –
Pasteurization; Discovered anaerobiosis – Pasteur effect)
1940’s – First industrial scale production of antibiotics
– Moyer: Penicillin production – Penicillin mould in culture broth of corn liquor and
lactose increases yield for practical mass production.
1953 – Structure of DNA first described.
– James Watson: Double helix model of DNA structure
1973 – First functioning artificial gene inserted into bacterial cell.
– Genetic Engineering
… many more breakthroughs since 1973 but many
related with genetic engineering
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History
Genetic engineering: the birth of a new industrial sector
“Infinite”
applications?
!
Pioneer work: Cohen and To saving lives
Boyer, 1970s Commercial
From humble beginnings
Gene transfer from one living insulin, 1980s
Gregor Michael Mendel
organism to another
(1822 – 1884)
(molecular cloning technique,
recombinant DNA)
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Insulin: the first commercial product of recombinant/genetic engineering
From: https://www.ied.edu.hk/biotech/eng/classrm/class_health5.html
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Content
History of biochemical engineering
Current applications
Features of bioprocessing plants
Assignment description/rules
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Applications
Breakdown of feed stock
Examples:
Production of bioethanol/breaking down cellulose
Biological waste treatment
• Composting: Decomposition by microorganisms (bacteria,
yeast, fungi)
– Biodegradation of organic matter (garden, food waste)
• Activated Sludge Process and Anaerobic Digestion:
decomposition by microorganisms in the presence (ASP)
and absence (AD) of oxygen
– Widely used in waste water treatment
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Applications
Generation of Biomass
– Industrial production of bakers yeast
– Animal/human feed
Extra-cellular products
– Alcohols
– Antibiotics
– Organic acids
– Enzymes
Intra-cellular products
– Most enzymes
– Human medical products ( e.g. insulin, growth hormone)
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Content
History of biochemical engineering
Current applications
Features of bioprocessing plants
Assignment description/rules
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Typical
process flow
Process stages Operations
From: Moo-Young and Chisti,
Pure & Appl Chem 66 (1994) 117-136 12
Typical
process flow
Process stages Operations
In this class we will
focus more on the
bioreaction
Connection to
Reactors class
(CP316)!
From: Moo-Young and Chisti,
Pure & Appl Chem 66 (1994) 117-136 13
Features of bioprocessing plants
Low temperatures
Near atmospheric pressures
Low concentrations
“Complicated” feedstock
Limitations regarding stirring/mixing
– Why? Many times fast stirring/agitation needs to be avoided. Microorganisms
and enzymes might “suffer” (death, denaturation) under strong shear
stresses. But how fast is fast? Well it depends on the organism/enzyme
and the process.
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Features of bioprocessing plants
Difficult heat transfer conditions
– Why?
Large temperature gradients should be avoided. Microorganisms
and enzymes “suffer” (death, denaturation)outside their optimal
temperature range. Also stirring limitations do not help re T
homogenization
Difficult gas transfer requirements
– Why?
Again stirring limitations do not help. Mass transfer increased with
better convection. Solubility of gas in the medium/broth is facilitated
by stronger agitation.
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Features of bioprocessing plants
Non-Newtonian flow
– What can go wrong in fluid is too viscous?
Flow in tubes. Design of pumps and all equipment becomes more
complicated. Special types of stirrers might be needed.
Requirement for aseptic operation
– Why?
If something you don’t want in a bioprocess is contamination by
undesirable microorganisms!
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Content
History of biochemical engineering
Current applications
Features of bioprocessing plants
Assignment description/rules
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Assignment: Presentation
Topic / Industrial production of: Groups
1,3-propanediol 1, 12
Vitamin C 2, 13
Riboflavin 3, 14
Glutamic Acid 4, 15
Succinic Acid 5, 16
Enzymes for washing powder 6, 17
Penicillin 7, 18
Glucagon 8, 19
Polylactic Acid (PLA) 9, 20
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) 10, 21
Bioisoprene 11
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Assignment: Presentation
Max 7 slides, including title slide
Duration: Max 6 minutes (aprox 1 minute per slide with content)
All group members must present at least 1 slide (unless there are personal mitigating
circumstances)
The presentation should cover:
Introduction – Why is the product needed/applications? Market size? Is there more than
one process to make the product? If so, select a process to describe in the rest of the
presentation and explain why was that process selected.
Overall (summarized) schematic of the process
Pre-treatment – description and pre-treatment of raw materials before they enter the
bioreactor/fermenter
Bioreaction(s)/fermentation(s) – should include a detailed schematic on inlets and outlest
of the bioreactor(s) and description of the operating conditions
Downstream processing – Separation and purification operations (highlight most important
ones if the process contains a lengthy downstream section)
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Assignment: Presentation
Please see file on myplace for feedback rubric
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