Biochemical Processing Overview

Biochemical Processing Overview Biochemical engineering is the application of chemical engineering principle to biological system to c) Understand, model, design and develop processes for environmental remediation e) To engineer improvements in pharmaceuticals c) To work in other areas that combine biochemistry, microbiology, and chemical engineering

Overview of industrial biochemical process • To scale up a laboratory scale operation into a large industrial process. • For example, to cultivate cells in a lab scale of 100ml, a small flask on a shaker can be an excellent way, but for a large scale operation of 2000L we cannot make the vessel bigger and shake it. We need to design an effective bioreactor to cultivate the cell in the most optimum conditions.

Chemical processes are eventually replaced by biochemical processes due to the following reasons 2. BC processes are cheap; naturally available materials can be used as nutrients for microbes, e.g. agro waste 3. Require moderate operating conditions Temp:25-40C pH-6-8 5. BC processes are very specific 6. BC Processes are very efficient; enzymatic reactions are faster 7. BC processes produce less toxic compounds than conventional chemical processes

History of Biochemical Engineering • Archaeological evidence shows that Egyptians has started using yeast and other fermentative organisms for wine and bread making during 1400B.C. • Late in the 19th century the work of Pasteur and Tyndall identified m.o. as the critical active agents in fermentation practice. • In 20th century Buchner, Neuberg and Weizmann led to process for production of ethanol, glycerol and other chemcials • In 1940s development in biochemistry, microbial genetics, and engineering marks the birth of biochemical engineering

The Diverse Biochemical Process Industry

Choice of selecting unit operations

Industrial Biological Process

Points to consider in Down stream processing • DSP begins with Raw Material Selection “Garbage in means garbage out” • There are trade offs, e.g. between purity and yield “No Free lunch” • Mass and Energy are conserved, • There are impurities and contaminants • You will be watched • Regulation includes FDA, EPA and OSHA • Design: Target - the spec sheet Path - the PFD Measure – Analytical • Murphy’s Law • Contaminants- need control • Lost Material – need robustness

Fermentation Process Development

Strategies for Media Design • Selection of media from literature • Analogy with medium for another organism • Rationale design from cell and product needs and process demands • Experimental design Who Should be involved in media design? – Microbiologist – Analytical Chemist – Process Engineer

A systematic approach to media design Fermentation process objectives • Cell mass vs. Product synthesis • Substrate allocation model • Physiological Model

Nutritional requirement • Elemental requirements • Specific nutrients, e.g. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. • Energy requirements Carbon source and Oxygen Growth Product synthesis Maintenance

Environmental requirements Techno-Economic Constraints • pH profile

– Cost

• Temperature profile

– Material availability

• Dissolved oxygen profile

– Product recovery

• Catabolite repression

– Environmental impact

• Physiological constraints, e.g. ionic strength, production inihibition

Fermentation Media

Overview of Media Desgin