Bioprocess Eng

Unit 1

Ms Mutanga
Understanding Bioprocess Eng

• Bioprocess engineering includes the work of mechanical, electrical,

and industrial engineers to apply the principles of their disciplines to
processes based on using living cells or subcomponents of such cells.

• Examples of bioprocess engineering include designing

fermenters/bioreactors and developing microbial processes for the
production of enzymes, biochemical, biopharmaceuticals and
fertilizers.
Understanding Bioprocess Eng
• A bioprocess engineer generally optimizes the system using biological
materials to manufacture a variety of biological products.

• Bioprocess engineers can work in many fields like agriculture research and
development, food processing companies, biotechnology firms, waste
management sectors, fuel, and pharmaceutical industries.

• A significant R&D progress has been made in the area of bioprocess

engineering including anaerobic bioreactor systems for integrated
fermentation and products separation, as well as sensors and instrumentation
necessary for measurement and control of bioprocesses kinetics.
Principles of Bioprocess Eng
• Bioprocess engineering involves the design, operation, control, and
optimization of biochemical processes
• Involving various biological pathways or reactions mediated by living
cells of animals, plants and microorganisms or enzymes under
controlled conditions.
• Biotransformation of raw material eg food, agriculture products,
pharmaceuticals products.
Traditional biotech vs Modern biotech
Basics Traditional Biotech
Definition Use of natural organisms to create or
modify food or other products useful
for humans
Discovery By chance that humans discovered the
natural process that is useful to
humans.
What it involves Natural organisms to produce new
foods or improve existing ones for
human consumption.
Examples Tissue culture mutagenesis
Modern Biotech
manipulation of genes and living tissues in a
controlled environment to generate new tissues.
Scientists discovery, the structure of DNA and
transferred genetic knowledge from one person to
another.
Genes and live tissues are manipulated in lab
testing.
Includes; DNA profiling, genome analysis, trans
genesis, and DNA cloning.
Concepts of Bioprocess Eng
• Bioprocess engineering is thus the backbone of the biotechnology
industry that
• Translates the research and development to the industries and is
divided into three parts as per the processing
• 1. Upstream processing
• 2. Bioreactor and bio reactions(Fermentation)
• 3. Downstream processing
Integrated bioprocess unit operations and
process flow sheets
Process design
• Research question what is the importance of design planning at a
biomanufacturing company-giving examples
Clue: To add value and meaning, to illuminate, to simplify, to clarify,
to modify, to dignify, to dramatize, to persuade, and perhaps even to
amuse.
Steps of an integrated bioprocess
1. Strain isolation,
2. Strain preservation,
3. Growth of inocula
4. Prefermentation culturing
5. Fermentation,
6. Recovery and purification of product
7. Treatment of effluents
Concepts of Bioprocess Eng
Upstream Process
• Upstream process describes the step of preparing cell cultures for
fermentation.
• upstream part of a bioprocess refers to the initial stage in which
microbes/cells are grown from either bacterial or mammalian cell
lines in bioreactors. Cultivation and cell growth can be achieved by
adding nutrients, growth hormones or cell culture media to the
fermenter.
Upstream Process
• Upstream processing involves the following steps, all of which are
related to inoculum development:
1. Master cell bank (MCB)
2. Working cell bank (WCB)
3. Media Preparation
4. Cell Culture
5. Cell Separation
6. Harvest and Clarification
Downstream Process
• Downstream process implies manufacture of a purified final product -
including antibiotics, hormones and enzymes –
• refers to the purification process for the sole purpose of measuring a
component or components of a formulation.
Research questions

1. What is the significance of bioprocess engineering in the production

of biotechnological products.

2. Distinguish the main differences upstream processes and

downstream processes.