Introduction to

Biochemical Engineering

CH148: BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

 Biochemical engineering

❖ Biochemical engineering
❑ the extension of chemical engineering to systems
using a biological catalyst to bring about desired
chemical transformations
❑ concerned with conducting biological processes
on an industrial scale
❑ links biological sciences with chemical
engineering

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biochemical engineering

❖ The role of biochemical engineers has

become more important in recent years due to
the dramatic developments of biotechnology.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biotechnology

“Chemical techniques that use living organisms, or

substances from those organisms, to make or modify
a product, including techniques used for the
improvement of the characteristics of economically
important plants and animals and for the development
of microorganisms to act on the environment”.

-Congress of the United States, 1984-

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biotechnology

In recent years, the term biotechnology is being

used to refer to novel techniques such as
• recombinant DNA, and
• cell fusion

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biotechnology

Biotechnology

Traditional Modern

Use of living organisms Uses genetically

and selection of features engineered organisms,
from those organisms plants and cells

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

Applications of biotechnology

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Human Insulin
The use of
recombinant DNA
technology to
modify Escherichia
coli bacteria to
produce human
insulin

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Animal cloning
Livestock cloning
improves animal
breeding programs
allowing farmers and
ranchers to produce
healthier offspring, and
therefore produce
healthier, safer and
higher quality foods more
consistently.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

Applications of biotechnology

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Food Production
Modern food
biotechnology
increases the speed
and precision with
which scientists can
improve food traits
and production
practices.

Source: Food insight

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Environmental biotech
Environmental
biotechnology utilizes
functions of
microorganisms for
conserving the
environment and
would be an important
key technology for
sustainable
development.
Source:http://www.nubio.nagoya-u.ac.jp

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Biosensors
A biological entity (i.e.
bacteria) is used to
monitor levels of
certain chemicals.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Applications of biotechnology

Recombinant New breed of

DNA or cell fusion cells

Produced
in minute
Initiated and quantities
developed
by pure
scientist

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biochemical engineering

Laboratory-scale Industrial scale

Industrial bioreactor

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biochemical engineering

❖ Biochemical engineering
❑ One of the major areas in biotechnology important to its
commercialization.
▪ Development of large scale process

▪ Breeding of cells that can produce a product

▪ Design of effective bioreactor to cultivate cells in

the most optimum conditions
▪ Reactors that use these cells in producing a
product

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Role of biochemical engineers

A typical biological
process
CH148 Biochemical Engineering
 Role of biochemical engineers
❑ Biochemical engineers work with biological scientists
to carry out bioprocesses on a large scale:
▪ to obtain the best biological catalyst (microorganism,
animal cell, plant cell or enzyme) for desired
applications.
▪ to create the best possible environment for the catalyst
to perform by designing the bioreactor and operating it
in the most efficient way.
▪ to separate the desired product from the reaction
mixture in the most economical way.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Role of biochemical engineers

❑ Issues
in process development and design of
bioprocesses
1. What change can be expected to occur?
Biochemical engineers should have understanding
of the basic sciences for the process involved.
These are microbiology, biochemistry, molecular
biology, genetics, and so on.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Role of biochemical engineers

2. How fast will the process take place?

This is where the expertise of chemical
engineers familiar with chemical kinetics and
reactor design plays a major role.
To design an effective bioreactor for the
biological catalyst to perform, it is also
important to know how the rate of the reaction
influenced by various operating conditions.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Role of biochemical engineers

3. How can the system be operated and

controlled for the maximum yield?
On-line optimization algorithms need to be
developed and used to enhance the
operability of bioprocess and to ensure that
these processes are operated at the most
economical points.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Role of biochemical engineers

4. How can the product be separated with the maximum

purity and minimum costs?

Separation techniques in downstream processing

Distillation Chromatography
Absorption Electrophoresis
Extraction Dialysis
Adsorption
Drying
Filtration
Precipitation
Leaching
CHE 142 Biochemical Engineering
 Biological process

❑ Industrial applications
of biological
processes are to use
living cells or their
components to effect
the desired physical
and chemical
changes.

CHE 142 Biochemical Engineering

 Biological process
❑ Advantages of bioprocess over chemical process
▪ Mild reaction condition
▪ typical: room temp., atmospheric pressure, neutral pH

▪ operation is less hazardous

▪ manufacturing facilities are less complex than a chemical

process
▪ Specificity
▪ Effectiveness
▪ Renewable resources
▪ major raw material is biomass

▪ Recombinant DNA technology

▪ promises enormous possibilities to improve biological processes
CH148 Biochemical Engineering
 Biological process

❑ Disadvantages

▪ Complex product mixtures

In cases of cell cultivation (microbial, animal, or
plant), multiple enzyme reactions are occurring in
sequence or in parallel, the final product mixture
contains cell mass, many metabolic by-products,
and a remnant of the original nutrients. The cell
mass also contains various cell components.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biological process

▪ Dilute aqueous environments

• The components of commercial interests are only
produced in small amounts in an aqueous medium.
Therefore, separation is very expensive. Since
products of bioprocesses are frequently heat sensitive,
traditional separation techniques cannot be employed.
Therefore, novel separation techniques that have been
developed for analytical purposes, need to be scaled
up.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biological process

▪ Contamination
The fermenter system can be easily contaminated,
since many environmental bacteria and molds grow
well in most media. The problem becomes more
difficult with the cultivation of plant or animal cells
because their growth rates are much slower than those
of environmental bacteria or molds.

CHE 142 Biochemical Engineering

 Biological process

▪ Variability
Cells tend to mutate due to the changing environment
and may lose some characteristics vital for the success of
process. Enzymes are comparatively sensitive or unstable
molecules and require care in their use.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 FERMENTATION
Traditional definition:
“…the process for the production of alcohol or lactic
acid from glucose (C6H12O6).”

Broader definition:
“…an enzymatically controlled transformation of an
organic compound.”
CH148 Biochemical Engineering
 Introduction to
Biochemical Engineering

END
 Biotechnology

Recombinant DNA technology

– allows the direct manipulation of genetic material of individual
cells, which may be used to develop microorganisms that produce
new products as well as useful organisms.

Genetic engineering – the laboratory technology for the genetic

manipulation within living cells
•A major objective of this technique is to splice a foreign gene for a
desired product into circular forms of DNA (plasmids), and then to
insert them into an organism, so that the foreign gene can be expressed
to produce the product from the organism.

CH148 Biochemical Engineering

 Biotechnology

Cell fusion
– a process to form a single hybrid cell with nuclei and
cytoplasm from two different types of cells in order to
combine the desirable characteristics of the two

Example:
Specialized cells of the immune system can produce useful antibodies.
However, it is difficult to cultivate those cells because their growth rate
is very slow. On the other hand, certain tumor cells have the traits for
immortality and rapid proliferation. By combining the two cells by
fusion, a hybridoma can be created that has both traits. The
monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced from the hybridoma cells can
be used for diagnosis, disease treatment, and protein purification.
CH148 Biochemical Engineering