Biochemical Engineering

A Textbook for Engineers, Chemists and Biologists

Shigeo Katoh, Jun-ichi Horiuchi, Fumitake Yoshida

• Editorial: Wiley-VCH
• Año: 2015
• ISBN:
  9783527685011
• Edición: 2
• Categoría: Technology & Engineering
• Categoría: Chemical & Biochemical Engineering

Completely revised, updated, and enlarged, this second edition now contains a subchapter on biorecognition assays, plus a chapter on bioprocess control added by the new co-author Jun-ichi Horiuchi, who is one of the leading experts in the field.
The central theme of the textbook remains the application of chemical engineering principles to biological processes in general, demonstrating how a chemical engineer would address and solve problems. To create a logical and clear structure, the book is divided into three parts. The first deals with the basic concepts and principles of chemical engineering and can be read by those students with no prior knowledge of chemical engineering. The second part focuses on process aspects, such as heat and mass transfer, bioreactors, and separation methods. Finally, the third section describes practical aspects, including medical device production, downstream operations, and fermenter engineering. More than 40 exemplary solved exercises facilitate understanding of the complex engineering background, while self-study is supported by the inclusion of over 80 exercises at the end of each chapter, which are supplemented by the corresponding solutions.
An excellent, comprehensive introduction to the principles of biochemical engineering.

Part I:
Basic Concepts and Principles

1
Introduction

1.1 Background and Scope

Engineering can be defined as “the science or art of practical applications of the knowledge of pure sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology.”

Compared with civil, mechanical, and other forms of engineering, chemical engineering is a relatively young branch of the subject that has been developed since the early twentieth century. The design and operation of efficient chemical plant equipment are the main duties of chemical engineers. It should be pointed out that industrial-scale chemical plant equipment cannot be built simply by enlarging the laboratory apparatus used in basic chemical research. Consider, for example, the case of a chemical reactor – that is, the apparatus used for chemical reactions. Although neither the type nor size of the reactor will affect the rate of chemical reaction per se, they will affect the overall or apparent reaction rate, which involves effects of physical processes, such as heat and mass transfer and fluid mixing. Thus, in the design and operation of plant-size reactor, knowledge of such physical factors – which is often neglected by chemists – is important.

G. E. Davis, a British pioneer in chemical engineering, described in his book, A Handbook of Chemical Engineering (1901, 1904), a variety of physical operations commonly used in chemical plants. In the United States, such physical operations as distillation, evaporation, heat transfer, gas absorption, and filtration were termed “unit operations” in 1915 by A. D. Little of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where the instruction of chemical engineering was organized via unit operations. The first complete textbook of unit operations entitled Principles of Chemical Engineering by Walker, Lewis, and McAdams of the MIT was published in 1923. Since then, the scope of chemical engineering has been broadened to include not only unit operations but also chemical reaction engineering, chemical engineering thermodynamics, process control, transport phenomena, and other areas.

Bioprocess plants using microorganisms and/or enzymes, such as fermentation plants, have many characteristics similar to those of chemical plants. Thus, a chemical engineering approach should be useful in the design and operation of various plants that involve biological systems, if differences in the physical properties of some materials are taken into account. Furthermore, chemical engineers are required to have some knowledge of biology when tackling problems that involve biological systems.

Since the publication of a pioneering textb...