Industrial Biotechnology

As fossil-based fuels and raw materials contribute to climate change, the use of renewable materials and energy as an alternative is increasingly important and common. This transition is not a luxury, but rather a necessity. We can use the unique properties of microorganisms to convert organic waste streams into biomaterials, chemicals and biofuels. This course provides the insights and tools for the design of biotechnology processes in a sustainable way. Six experienced course leaders will teach you the basics of industrial biotechnology and how to apply these to the design of fermentation processes for the production of fuels, chemicals and foodstuffs.

Throughout this course, you will be encouraged to design your own biotechnological process and evaluate its performance and sustainability. This undergraduate course includes guest lectures from industry as well as from the University of Campinas in Brazil, with over 40 years of experience in bio-ethanol production. The course is a joint initiative of TU Delft, the international BE-Basic consortium and University of Campinas.

Unit 1. Biotechnology for Biobased Products

• Why develop a biobased economy?
• Industrial biotechnology
• Feedstocks - renewable sources of biomass for biobased products
• Process to produce bio-PDO (1,3-Propanediol)
• Benefits for society and sustainability - evaluating the effects of biobased production

Unit 2. Balances and Microbial Rates

• Microorganisms and their function in nature
• Functional understanding of nutrient requirements for microbial growth
• Learning about the process: Broth balances
• Learning about the process: Gas phase balances
• Learning about the microorganism: q-rates and chemostat
• Learning about the process and organism

Unit 3. The Black Box Model and Process Reaction

• The process reaction
• Basics of the black box model
• Energy consuming and energy producing products
• A PDO black box model: experiments for parameter identification
• Black box models: The PDO process reaction as function of μ
• PDO continuous process design: calculation of inputs and outputs using the process reaction
• Aerobic PDO process: improving sustainability
• Introduction to Metabolic Flux Analysis

Unit 4. Fermentation Design

• Introduction to fermentation technology
• The large-scale fermenter
• Fermenter operation
• Gas transport
• Heat transport
• Mixing
• Basic approach to design and then optimize a PDO fermentation process

Unit 5. Up- and Down-stream process integration

• Towards an integrated bioprocess
• Pre-treatment
• Separation and formulation
• Separation principles
• Conceptual process design for 1,3 PDO production
• Process integration for 1,3 PDO production

Unit 6. Process Evaluation and Sustainability

• Designing a sustainable business case
• Economics of a process design
• Environmental assessment of a process design
• Social sustainability
• Sustainability in a global context