Course syllabus for Industrial biotechnology

Course syllabus adopted 2024-02-07 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameIndustriell bioteknik
  • CodeBBT065
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPBIO
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyBioengineering, Chemical Engineering
  • DepartmentBIOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 08120
  • Maximum participants60 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0122 Written and oral assignments 2 c
Grading: UG		 2 c
0222 Project 2 c
Grading: UG		 2 c
0322 Examination 3.5 c
Grading: UG		 3.5 c
  • 11 Okt 2024 am J DIG

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

Systems biology (KMG060 or similar course). Basic course in at least one of the following subjects: Applied microbiology, Bioreaction engineering, Bioprocess technology, Chemical reaction engineering, or similar. Some experience with programming in Matlab or similar is recommended.

Aim

The aims of the course are that the students should

  • gain a quantitative understanding of different types of bioreactors and cultivation technologies
  • obtain knowledge concerning the different demands on cultivation conditions and process control dictated by the metabolic and physiological characteristics of various cell systems such as bacteria, yeast, filamentous fungi as well as higher eukaryotes.
  • obtain knowledge of industrial applications of such cell factories
  • develop engineering competences like working with models, working with complex, open-ended problems, and communicating scientific problems in written and oral form within given time frames.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • Describe how renewable raw materials can be used for production of fine and bulk chemicals using industrial biotechnology.
  • Design common microbial cultivation techniques such as batch-, fed-batch, chemostat, and perfusion cultures, including cell recirculation.
  • Make quantitative descriptions of growth and metabolic behaviour in industrial-like cultivation systems using biochemically structured mathematical models and simulation in Matlab
  • Design strategies for development of microbial cell factories suitable for industrial applications, also considering the extra demands put on cell factories when using renewable lignocellulosic raw materials.
  • Choose suitable cultivation techniques and cell systems for various manufacturing and research purposes and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of alternative  cultivation techniques and cell systems
  • Design metabolically based control strategies for cultivation of different cell systems such as bacteria, yeast, filamentous fungi and higher eukaryotic cells.
  • Formulate and communicate a proposal for a biotechnological research or development project, including choice of model organism, cultivation techniques, and analytical techniques.
  • Describe some important industrial applications of microbiology.

Content

  • Bioreactor design
  • Cultivation principles, modes of operation
  • Oxygen transfer
  • Monitoring and control strategies for industrial and laboratory biological processes
  • Upscaling from small scale to production scale
  • Growth kinetics and process dynamics
  • Microbial physiology and overflow metabolism
  • Strain development via Metabolic Engineering and Evolutionary Engineering
  • Procedures for culturing mammalian cells, filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria
  • Industrial production of, among others, enzymes, antibiotics, starter cultures, organic acids, ethanol as a biofuel, and beer
  • Physiologically based process control strategies
  • Mathematical modeling and simulation using Matlab

Organisation

The course includes lectures, exercises, a simulation-based assignment, a research project proposal assignment, and a field trip.

Lectures are an important part of the course, and are the major basis for the final exam. Approximately half of the lectures deal with dynamic mass balances, microbial kinetics, and physiologically based control of bioreactors. The other half is dedicated to different organisms and their industrial applications, and the considerations that are required for choosing, designing and optimizing the cultivation technology for various purposes.

The simulation assignment deals with oxygen transfer, biochemically structured models for microbial growth and product formation, and physiologically based control of a large-scale bioreactor system. Students work in small groups and must submit a written final report on the simulation exercise, which is followed up in a discussion with the teacher. To support the programming, there are also some exercises that are intended to train basic theoretical concepts and to generate the Matlab code necessary for solving the rather complex simulation assignment.

In the Research Project Proposal assignment students are asked to formulate a research grant application, which should include some of the issues concerning biological production that are discussed in the course. Apart from this, students are free to choose the topic of the proposal. The proposal shall be submitted in writing and presented orally. The project is done in small groups.

Literature

The course literature consists of handouts, scientific articles and book chapters referred to during the course. Students must download the required texts via the E-journals and E-books available at the Chalmers library homepage: http://www.lib.chalmers.se/.

Chapters 3 and 4 in:
Stephanopoulos, Aristidou and Nielsen (1998), Metabolic engineering. Principles and methodologies. Academic Press. (Available as E-book via the Chalmers library)

Selected material from
Moo-Young, M (editor) (2011): Comprehensive Biotechnology (Second Edition), Elsevier (available as E-book).

The course literature used in KMB040/KMB041 and KKR090/KKR091 may also be used as reference books:

  • Madigan MT (2012) Brock biology of microorganisms (13th edition). Pearson Education, (or other editions)
  • Matthews, Appling, Anthony-Cahill, van Holde (2013) Biochemistry (4th edition). Pearson education (or other editions)
  • Nielsen J, Villadsen J, Lidén G (2011) Bioreaction Engineering Principles (3rd  edition), Springer (available as E-book)

Examination including compulsory elements

The course is examined by the final exam, the simulation assignment, and the research project proposal, and all three parts contribute to the final grade.

The final written exam contains descriptive and quantitative questions on contents covered in the lectures, exercises and course literature. To pass the exam, a minimum of 20 out of 60 points are required. To pass the simulation assignment, a minimum 10 out of 30 points are required. For the project proposal up to 25 points are awarded for the written report and 5 for the oral project presentation. To pass the project, a minimum 10 out of 30 points are required.

The final grade is based on the sum of the awarded points with 50-69 points for grade 3, 70-89 points for grade 4, and 90-120 points for grade 5. 

Strict deadlines are applied for submission of the assignment and project proposal. Further details, e.g. criteria for assessment of assignments, are given at the course homepage.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.