Biochemical engineering/ Bioprocess

engineering

Biochemical Engineering also known as Bioprocess Engineering is a

branch of Chemical Engineering or Biological Engineering. It is a
branch of engineering that deals with the design and construction of
unit processes that involve biological organisms or molecules.

The efficient utilization of physical, chemical and biological

processes to convert raw materials into useful products, at
minimal cost, with minimal energy consumption, and with
minimal impact on the environment.
 Bioprocess/Biochemical
Engineering
• Process for developing useful products by taking
advantage of natural biological activities.

• Classical example include making alcoholic

beverages – the yeast cells and nutrients (cereal
grains) formed a fermentation system in which the
organisms consumed the nutrients for the growth
and produce by-products (alcohol).

• Today's modern bioprocess technology is based on

the same principle: combining living matter (whole
organisms or enzymes) with nutrients under the
conditions necessary to make the desired end
product.
 Bioprocessing
• Many potential uses of biotechnology are
developed through laboratory procedures
that generally produce only small amounts of
useful substances.

• As advances in bioprocess technology,

particularly, fermentation, separation and
purification techniques, are made-
commercial firms are able to economically
produce these substances in large amounts
 Bioprocessing
• Because bioprocesses use living
material, they offer several
advantages over conventional
chemical methods of production:

➢ They usually require lower temperature,

pressure, and pH.

➢ They can use renewable resources as raw

materials; and greater quantities can be
produced with less energy consumption.
 Bioprocessing
• In bioprocesses, enzymes are used to catalyze the
biochemical reactions by whole microorganisms or
their cellular components.

• The biological catalyst causes the reactions to

occur, but is not itself changed.

• After a series of such reactions (which take place in

large vessels called fermentors or fermentation
tanks), the initial raw materials are chemically
changed to form the desired end product.
 Bioprocessing
• Bioprocesses have become widely used in fields, such as
production of enzymes and proteins that are used in:

➢ food processing

➢ waste management

➢ medical research

➢ agriculture

➢ pharmaceutical development

➢ numerous other fields of science and industry.

 Microorganisms as production factory

• Microorganisms in the process of self

replication, produce numerous complex
macromolecules from about 100 different
monomer units.

• To achieve this a bacterial cell uses well

over 1000 different enzymes and a
eukaryotic cell may employ twice as many.
Products of Bioprocess Technology