Biochemical Engineering Syllabus

The following syllabus is representative.

First-year subjects

• Engineering Mathematics
• Engineering Physics
• Engineering Chemistry
• Basic Electrical Engineering
• Basic Mechanical Engineering
• Engineering Graphics
• Computer Programming
• Engineering Mechanics
• Communication Skills
• Environmental Studies
• Workshop Practice
• Professional Ethics

Second-year subjects

• Material and Energy Balances
• Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Heat Transfer
• Biochemistry
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Engineering Mathematics
• Mechanical Operations
• Process Calculations
• Biochemical Engineering Laboratory

Third-year subjects

• Mass Transfer
• Chemical Reaction Engineering
• Biochemical Reaction Engineering
• Fermentation Technology
• Enzyme Engineering
• Bioreactor Design
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics
• Downstream Processing
• Process Instrumentation
• Process Control
• Transport Phenomena
• Industrial Microbiology
• Bioprocess Laboratory

Fourth-year subjects

• Bioprocess Plant Design
• Process Economics
• Scale-Up
• Bioprocess Modelling and Simulation
• Bioseparation Engineering
• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
• Food Biotechnology
• Environmental Biotechnology
• Biofuels
• Quality Assurance
• Validation
• Industrial Safety
• Electives
• Internship
• Major Project

Important Biochemical Engineering subjects

Material and energy balances

Material and energy balances track what enters, leaves, accumulates or reacts inside a process.

Students may calculate:

• Substrate consumption
• Biomass production
• Product formation
• Gas requirements
• Water use
• Heat generation
• Waste streams

These calculations form the foundation of process design.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry covers proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolism. It helps engineers understand how cells and enzymes produce or transform compounds.

Microbiology

Microbiology studies microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and yeast. Students learn microbial structure, growth, nutrition, metabolism and contamination control.

Cell biology

Cell Biology examines cell structures, transport, signalling, growth and division. It is particularly relevant to cell-culture and biopharmaceutical processes.

Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics addresses energy, phase equilibrium and the direction of processes. It supports separation, reaction and process design.

Fluid Mechanics

Fluid Mechanics explains the flow of liquids and gases. Biochemical applications include pumping fermentation broth, aeration, mixing and pipeline design.

Biological fluids can behave differently from simple liquids. High-cell-density or polymer-containing broths may have complex flow behaviour.

Heat Transfer

Heat transfer is important for sterilisation, temperature control, heating, cooling and process stability.

Microorganisms and cells may be damaged by excessive temperature, while poor heat removal can reduce process performance.

Mass Transfer

Mass transfer describes how components move between phases. Oxygen transfer from gas bubbles into fermentation liquid is a central biochemical-engineering problem.

Students may study:

• Diffusion
• Interphase transfer
• Gas–liquid transfer
• Mass-transfer coefficients
• Absorption
• Extraction
• Membrane transport

Chemical reaction engineering

Reaction Engineering covers reaction kinetics, reactor design and performance. It provides concepts later adapted to biological reactions.

Biochemical reaction engineering

Biochemical Reaction Engineering applies kinetics and reactor principles to cells, enzymes and biological systems.

Students may study:

• Microbial growth kinetics
• Substrate utilisation
• Product formation
• Enzyme kinetics
• Inhibition
• Batch reactors
• Fed-batch reactors
• Continuous reactors
• Immobilised systems

Fermentation technology

Fermentation uses microorganisms or cells to produce desired products. The term can include aerobic as well as anaerobic biological processes.

Students learn:

• Medium formulation
• Inoculum preparation
• Sterilisation
• Aeration
• Agitation
• pH control
• Temperature control
• Foam management
• Sampling
• Process monitoring

Bioreactor design

A bioreactor provides controlled conditions for biological reactions. Common modes include:

• Batch
• Fed-batch
• Continuous
• Immobilised-cell or enzyme systems
• Specialised cell-culture systems

Design considerations include mixing, oxygen transfer, shear, heat removal, sterility, monitoring and cleaning.

Enzyme Engineering

Enzyme Engineering covers enzyme kinetics, immobilisation, stability and industrial application.

Enzymes can be used in food processing, pharmaceuticals, detergents, textiles, chemicals and environmental processes.

Downstream processing

Downstream processing recovers and purifies a product after biological production. It can represent a major share of manufacturing complexity and cost.

Common operations include:

• Cell separation
• Filtration
• Centrifugation
• Cell disruption
• Precipitation
• Extraction
• Membrane separation
• Chromatography
• Drying
• Crystallisation

The correct sequence depends on the product’s location, stability, purity and market requirements.

Bioseparation Engineering

Bioseparation applies separation principles to biological products. These products can be delicate, present at low concentration or mixed with many similar molecules.

Process instrumentation

Instrumentation measures variables such as:

• Temperature
• pH
• Dissolved oxygen
• Pressure
• Flow
• Level
• Biomass
• Gas composition

Reliable measurements support control, safety and quality.

Process control

Process Control maintains variables near desired values. A control system may adjust heating, cooling, agitation, gas flow, nutrient addition or pH.

Sterilisation and aseptic processing

Sterilisation reduces or eliminates unwanted microorganisms from equipment, media and air. Aseptic processing prevents contamination during operation.

Students may study thermal sterilisation, filtration, cleaning and contamination control.

Transport phenomena

Transport Phenomena integrates momentum, heat and mass transfer. It helps explain mixing, oxygen transfer, thermal behaviour and separation.

Scale-up

Scale-up moves a process from laboratory equipment to pilot and production systems. A process that works in a small flask may behave differently in a large vessel.

Challenges include:

• Mixing time
• Oxygen transfer
• Heat removal
• Shear
• Sensor response
• Sterility
• Raw-material variability
• Equipment geometry

Simple proportional enlargement is rarely sufficient.

Bioprocess modelling and simulation

Mathematical models can represent growth, reaction, transport and control. Simulation helps engineers compare operating strategies before expensive experiments.

Models must be validated against reliable data.

Industrial Microbiology

Industrial Microbiology focuses on microorganisms used to manufacture products such as antibiotics, enzymes, organic acids and fermented foods.

Molecular biology and genetics

These subjects introduce DNA, RNA, gene expression and genetic manipulation. They help engineers understand modern production organisms.

Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering may be used to modify organisms for improved productivity or new products. Ethical, biosafety and regulatory considerations are important.

Pharmaceutical biotechnology

This subject may cover biologics, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, manufacturing processes and quality concepts.

Food biotechnology

Food biotechnology includes fermentation, enzymes, microbial cultures and biological processing used in food production.

Environmental biotechnology

Biological systems can treat wastewater, degrade pollutants, recover resources and support waste management.

Biofuels

Students may study bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, biological hydrogen and other renewable-fuel pathways. Commercial feasibility depends on raw materials, energy use, logistics and policy.

Process economics

A technically successful process may not be commercially viable. Students learn capital cost, operating cost, profitability and economic comparison.

Plant design

Plant Design combines equipment selection, process flow, utilities, safety, layout, cost and operation.

Quality assurance and validation

Regulated industries require evidence that equipment, methods and processes perform consistently.

Students may be introduced to:

• Good manufacturing practices
• Standard operating procedures
• Documentation
• Qualification
• Validation
• Deviation management
• Change control
• Corrective and preventive action

Professional responsibilities require industry-specific training beyond introductory coursework.

Biochemical Engineering laboratories

Relevant laboratories may include:

• Biochemistry laboratory
• Microbiology laboratory
• Fermentation laboratory
• Bioreactor laboratory
• Enzyme-technology laboratory
• Heat-transfer laboratory
• Mass-transfer laboratory
• Fluid Mechanics laboratory
• Reaction-engineering laboratory
• Downstream-processing laboratory
• Process-control laboratory
• Environmental Engineering laboratory
• Molecular-biology laboratory
• Computational laboratory
• Pilot plant

Students should inspect whether equipment is functional and regularly used.

Elective subjects

Possible electives include:

• Metabolic Engineering
• Systems Biology
• Synthetic Biology
• Biopharmaceutical Engineering
• Vaccine Technology
• Tissue Engineering
• Industrial Enzymes
• Biosensors
• Nanobiotechnology
• Food Process Engineering
• Bioenergy
• Algal Biotechnology
• Waste-to-Value Processes
• Process Analytical Technology
• Advanced Chromatography
• Bioprocess Optimisation
• Computational Biology
• Regulatory Affairs
• Sustainable Biomanufacturing

Project ideas

Possible projects include:

• Fermentation optimisation
• Enzyme production
• Microbial biofuel production
• Wastewater bioreactor
• Food-waste valorisation
• Bioplastic production
• Organic-acid fermentation
• Immobilised-enzyme reactor
• Algal biomass cultivation
• Biosorption of pollutants
• Biogas improvement
• Bioreactor-control model
• Downstream purification study
• Protein-separation process
• Fermented-food development
• Biofertiliser production
• Microbial pigment production
• Process-economics comparison
• Oxygen-transfer analysis
• Scale-up model
• Waste-to-enzyme process
• Antimicrobial compound production
• Biosurfactant production
• Data-driven fermentation monitoring
• Membrane-separation study

Projects involving microorganisms, genetically modified material or biological samples must follow institutional biosafety and ethical requirements.