Bioprocess Design

Overview

Teachers from universities and companies have joint forces and will present a program that centers around industrial fermentation processes, and is flanked by overviews on upstream and downstream processing. 

The focus of the Bioprocess Design course at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is on design of innovative microbial fermentations, for bio-products such as amino acids and monomers for bio-plastics, complemented with examples of marine and mammalian processes, for micro-algae products and bio-pharmaceuticals. 

Learning outcomes

• A substantial part (ca. 40% of the time) will be dedicated to a case study, executed in teams of 4-6 participants, on the design of a bioprocess for the production of a chemical (1,4-butanediol). 
• Basic theory on thermodynamic, microbial stoichiometry and kinetics, transport phenomena and scale up/down will be extensively applied and integrated. 

• The team with the best design performance wins the Genomatica Bioprocess Design prize. 
• There are several guest lecturers from leading universities and industries in the bioprocess field, providing latest insights in technology innovations, non-conventional feedstocks and new bio-product categories, complemented with views from the industrial practice.

• This one-week course is intensive and has long days. To ensure active participation by those attending, a combination of theoretical (lectures) and practical (exercises, case study) work is offered. The course will be given in English. A pocket calculator is required.