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CHEE 342: Environmental Biotechnology
Individual Research Topic
List of references and Table of contents due Sunday 26th Oct 2014 at midnight (email word
document to the TA (Jesse Harris - jesse.harris@chee.queensu.ca)
Final Report due Sun 23rd Nov 2014 at midnight (email word document to the TA (Jesse Harris jesse.harris@chee.queensu.ca)
This project is worth 25% of your final mark. Your report must be a maximum of 16 pages of text
(min ~14 pages, see Guidelines for writing reports) on a topic in environmental biotechnology. A list
of topics is given below but you are free to select a topic not on this list with the prior approval of the
instructor. Approval may be obtained via email. You must research your topic to be sure that you can
find sufficient information and that the subject is of interest to you before you sign up for it. You will
be able to sign up after Sept 29th and must signup by Monday 13th October 2014 at midnight.
Email a word document to the TA (Jesse Harris - jesse.harris@chee.queensu.ca) with a list of
references (in the right format) that you will use in your paper and a Table of Content of your
report (worth 5% of the report). Only 1 student per project title. You can sign up on the Moodle
course page (https://moodle.queensu.ca/2013-14/mod/choice/view.php?id=25551).
Present your material in a logical, concise manner (quality, not quantity is important). Consult the
section on "Guidelines for written report" for the format and on how the report will be graded. If you
need help, consult your TA or the reference librarian at Douglas Library for advice on where or how to
research for the background information. There will be a penalty of -20 marks per day for late
reports. This report must be your original work and “all forms of academic dishonesty such as
plagiarism, cheating, furnishing false information to the University, forgery, misuse of university
documents” is an offence (http://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/senate/policies/codecond.html) and any
form of academic dishonesty will result in a mark of zero.
List of possible topics
1) Developments in biotechnology to alleviate hunger in third world countries
2) Bacillus thuringiensis as a biopesticide
3) Nematodes as biopesticide
4) Prebiotic and probiotic foods
5) Animal biotechnology for pharmaceutical and industrial applications
6) Microbial production of antibiotics
7) Industrial application of microbial lipases
8) Cellulases in the food and biofuels industries
9) Amylases in the food industry
10) Microbial fuel cells
11) The biorefinery concept
12) Microbial production of flavours and fragrances (ie vanillin, benzaldehyde, zingerone)
13) Industrial production of microbial lactic acid as a building block chemical
14) Industrial production of microbial succinic acid as a building block chemical
15) Industrial production of microbial 2,3-butanediol as a building block chemical
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16) Microbial industrial production of butanol as a biofuel
17) Biosensors in food applications
18) Biosensors and the environment
19) Thermophilic bacteria as a source of novel enzymes for industrial application
20) Magnetic bacteria and applications of biomagnetites in nanobiotechnology or medicine
21) Enzymes in textile finishing processes
22) Plant biotechnology for air environmental monitoring and purification
23) Biotechnological reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and greenhouse gases
24) Control of industrial biofilms
25) Microorganisms as biofertilizers to replace chemical fertilizers
26) The importance of clean drinking water in third world countries
27) Sick building syndrome
28) Rapid detection of microbial contamination in drinking water or food eg molecular probes
29) Incorporation of living organisms in biomicroelectronic devices
30) Genetically modified organisms in the environment
31) The gene chip and its application in the environment
32) Microalgae for biodiesel production
33) Biodiesel from transesterification of oils
34) Pharmaceutical contamination of drinking water
35) Biogas production from agricultural and food wastes
36) Microbial degradation of plastics and polymers
37) Biological life support systems for space exploration
38) Aquaponics for food production
39) Advances in home wastewater treatment and alternatives to septic beds
40) Rumen ecology and improvements in productivity in the dairy sector
41) Ethanobotany and Bioprospecting of novel pharmaceuticals
42) Biological control in greenhouses and agriculture
43) Role of gut microorganisms in humans on health
44) Production of polylactic acid
45) Production of “commodity” polymers such as polyethylene from biosourced materials
46) Electrobiocommodities (fuels produced from CO2 with aid of electrical energy via microbes)
47) Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in wastewater treatment
48) Biological phosphorous removal in wastewater treatment
49) Transgenic production of spider’s silk
50) Enzymes in laundry detergents
51) Industrial enzymes – present status and future prospects
52) Neutraceutical enzymes
53) Biodesulfurization
Guidelines for written report
Format for written report
The report should be a maximum of 16 pages (min ~14 pages), not including title page, figures or
tables and the list of references. The report should be typed double-spaced on 8.5"x 11" paper with a
1" margin all around.
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Title page
Information on this page should include:
Title of the report (eg "Biooxidation of refractory sulfide ores for gold recovery")
Date of submission
your name and student number and a signed statement that your report is independent and original
work.
Executive summary
This should be a maximum of a half page clearly summarizing the highlights of the report. Take the
time to write a well-constructed summary with a view to catching the readers' interest so that they will
want to read the whole report. However, it is important not to be misleading. Keep the technical
language in this section to a minimum.
Table of contents
This should list each section and sub-section and the page number upon which it begins.
List of Figures and Tables
If figures and/or tables are included in the report, this list should follow the table of contents. The
number, caption and page number should be listed.
Main body
The report should include the following sections:
Introduction
This section should be concise. It should introduce the problem(s) or objective(s), the significance
(legal, health, regulatory considerations, etc) or why we should be interested in the topic.
Background or Literature Review
This should briefly describe the biotechnological solution(s) which may be used to deal with the
problem(s) or an in-depth understanding of the technology. Discuss factors which may affect the
process. State the advantages and disadvantages of the biotechnological solution and compared to
traditional non-biotechnological approaches.
Detailed description of pilot or commercial scale applications (where applicable)
Give details of at least one commercial application. Make use of diagrams or drawings.
Economics
Compare the cost of the biological solution to other processes when possible.
Conclusions
Be concise.
References
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All publications, personal communications, unpublished documents, Tables, Figures, etc referred to in
the report must be properly cited in the list of references. Use a format such as that of the Canadian
Journal of Chemical Engineering or a similar journal. Only scholarly articles are allowed as
references. Note that web citations such as Wikipedia will not be acceptable. Scholarly journal
articles and reference books will be acceptable. A minimum of 10 or more are needed. For example:
Vandevivere PC, Bianchi R, Verstraete W (1998) Treatment and reuse of wastewater from the textile
wet-processing industry: review of emerging technologies. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 72: 289-302.
Assessment
Your written report will be assessed according to the following marking scheme: (total = 100%)
1. Organization, neatness of layout and figures, overall presentation
Max. mark
10
2. Technical content (should include where applicable but is not limited to) 60
significance of problem
relevant background or literature review,
detailed description of pilot or commercial scale applications
awareness of limitations of these applications
cost comparison
3. Table of Contents and References
10
4. Good grammar, clear concise writing
20