Read this article to learn about Progress of Process Biotechnology!
The process biotechnology practice has made significant contributions through resource utilization towards Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology progress in contemporary years.
This progress has strong growth foundations on:
(a) Knowledge acquired through research
(b) Academic teaching programme development with newer approaches and
(c) Newer practicing strategies.
In bioprocess engineering practice, the knowledge components of basic, physical, chemical, abstract and engineering sciences in association with bioscience domains have been integrated with research and development (R & D) in bioprocesses and bio-systems for advancing process biotechnology.
The integration objective is to utilize material resource for its biotransformation into high value commercially potential products. In engineering practice if the material resource is of renewable nature it renders availability advantage. However, all renewable and non-renewable biomaterials have different structural and functional properties.
In considering these material resources as a commodity for raw material in process industries education and research based information on the structural and functional properties of these materials will assist to a great extent in practicing technology of their utilization.
In realizing progress of process biotechnology many aspects of education, research and training in biochemical engineering and biotechnology have been overviewed. In many countries including India, biotechnology has been stated to sprout from engineering discipline.
However, prior to nineteen hundred fifties fermentation technology in India has been stated to be confined to the brewing industry and industrial alcohol production although India’s position in the traditional fermented foods and distillery industry is amongst the oldest biotechnology like most other Asian countries.
The beginning of process biotechnology may be stated to date back to nearly fifty years of service behind scientists and engineers. In those days the fermentation scientists used to approach mechanical and chemical engineers to construct fermenters for them for the production of penicillin.
Although bio-scientists knew to produce penicillin by submerged culture method instead of by the laborious and expensive bottle or tray technique, they use to lack the right equipment and technique. The result of the first flirtation with engineers was stated to turn out to be a miserable disappointment.
The bio-reaction kettle that was offered by the engineers to the fermentation scientists for penicillin production led to serious and crippling infections. The engineers then tried to solve this problem with steam seals at every possible point1 where leakage could be expected. This effort also ended up with a hissing and puffing contraption that resembled a noisy old steam engine more than a fermenter.
The problems needed eliminations. Gradually over the years by gaining experiences much has progressed in these fifty years. The major progress undoubtedly was that this flirtation of the microbiologists/bio-scientists with the persistent engineers resulted a vital hybridization. Out of this hybridization a bioengineer was born to take care for future progress of process biotechnology which had its origins in industrial microbiology, conventional fermentation technology and its related areas.