Introduction - Bioprocess Engineering: Kinetics, Biosystems, Sustainability and Reactor Design - page 10

American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Therefore, biological engineering is also regarded as
not a well-defined term and can at times refer to biotechnology applications in agricultural
fields. While not exclusive, most relate biological engineering to agricultural engineering
or more specifically applications of agriculture sciences. Biochemical engineering has usually
meant the extension of chemical engineering principles to systems using a biological catalyst
to bring about desired chemical transformations. It is often subdivided into bioreaction engi-
neering and bioseparations. Biomedical engineering has traditionally been considered totally
separate from biochemical engineering, although the boundary between the two is increas-
ingly vague, particularly in the areas of cell surface receptors and animal cell culture.
Another relevant term is biomolecular engineering, which has been defined by the National
Institutes of Health as “ research at the interface of biology and chemical engineering

and is focused at the molecular level.” In all, a strong background in quantitative analysis,
kinetic/dynamic behaviors, and equilibrium behaviors are strongly desirable. Increasingly,
these bio-related engineering fields have become interrelated, although the names are
restricting.
Bioprocess engineering is a broader and at the same time a narrower field than the
commonly used terms referred above: biological engineering, biochemical engineering,
biomedical engineering, and biomolecular engineering. Bioprocess Engineering is a profes-
sion than spans all the bio-related engineering fields as mentioned above. It is a profession
that has emerged to stand alone, as compared to the interdisciplinary profession once it
was. Unlike the term Bioengineering, the term Bioprocess Engineering is specific and well
defined. Bioprocess engineering emphasizes the engineering and sciences of industrial
processes that are biobased: 1) biomass feedstock conversion for a sustainable society or bio-
refinery; 2) biocatalysis-based processing; and 3) manipulation of microorganisms for
a sustainable and socially desirable goal. Bioprocess engineering is neither product-based
nor is substrate based. Therefore, bioprocess engineering deals with biological and chemical
processes involved in all areas, not just for a particular substrate or species (of feedstock or
intermediate), outcome, or product. Thus, bioprocess engineering intercepts chemical, mechan-
ical, electrical, environmental, medical, and industrial engineering fields, applying the prin-
ciples to designing and analysis of processes based on using living cells or subcomponents of
such cells, as well as nonliving matters. Bioprocess engineering deals with both microscale
(cellular/molecular) and large-scale (systemwide/industrial) designs and analyses. Science
and engineering of processes converting biomass materials to chemicals, materials, and
energy are therefore part of bioprocess engineering by extension. Predicting and modeling
system behaviors, detailed equipment and process design, sensor development, control algo-
rithms, and manufacturing or operating strategies are just some of the challenges facing bio-
process engineers. At the heart of bioprocess engineering lays the process kinetics, reactor
design, and analysis for biosystems, which forms the basis for this text.
We will focus primarily on the kinetics, dynamics, and reaction engineering involved in
the bioprocess engineering. A key component is the application of engineering principles
to systems containing biological catalysts and/or biomass as feedstock, but with an emphasis
on those systems making use of biotechnology and green chemistry. The rapidly increasing
ability to determine the complete sequence of genes in an organism offers new opportunities
for bioprocess engineers in the design and monitoring of bioprocesses. The cell, itself, is now
a designable component of the overall process.

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