Course title: Industrial and Environmental Biotechnologies
Teacher: Attilio Converti
Course code: 72309
Discipline: CHIM/11
Credits: 8
Master degree course: Master in Chemical Engineering
Formative aims
The course aims at providing the concepts needed for a good knowledge of the biotechnological processes
and plants, with specific concern to industrial and environmental applications. Particular attention is paid to
the principles and technological aspects of new biotechnological applications.
Main contents
The cell: constitution, morphology and basic molecules. Proteins and enzymes: structure, conditions
influencing the enzyme activity. Microbial metabolism: catabolic and anabolic pathways, ATP and ADP.
Genetic code and protein synthesis: DNA and RNA. Classification of industrial biotechnological processes.
Modes of operation. Aeration, Agitation, Sterilization, Immobilization. Industrial bioreactors. Recovery of
biotechnological products and chromatographic techniques. Kinetics of microbial growth. Material balances
and productivity of a CSTR with and without recycling. Enzyme kinetics and thermodynamics. Industrial
fermentations: Glycolytic pathways, Krebs Cycle, Respiration and oxidative phosphorylation, Pentose
phosphate pathway, Homolactic and heterolactic fermentations, Alcoholic fermentation, Acetic
fermentation, Butyric-butylic fermentation, Mixed-acid fermentation, Propionic fermentations, Citric
fermentation. Production of antibiotics. Environmental biotechnology. Microbial populations involved in
anaerobic digestion. Biogas production. Biofiltration of gaseous effluents. Metabolic pathways of
degradation of organic pollutants. Execution of a bioprocess in laboratory.
Technical skill
Ability to manage biotechnological processes and systems devoted to the industrial production and
environmental protection
Didactic works
Lectures (60 h)
Classroom exercises (4 h)
Laboratory (16 h)
Examination procedure
Oral exam. Students, at the end of the course, propose to the teacher to go deeper into one of the topics
among those discussed during lectures and laboratory exercises. After having agreed the topic, students
submit their review on that topic to the teacher at least one week before the oral exam. The work, after
correction by the teacher, will be taken as a main topic of the oral exam, becoming the subject of two
questions of deepening. The work, which may written either in Italian or English, will be exposed by the
student by presentation of a PowerPoint file. Aim of this part of the exam is evaluating the student’s
capability of discerning the relative importance of different scientific works as well as his ability to
synthesize information and to prepare a review utilizing all available sources. The oral exam will end with a
further question on one of the other subjects of lessons, in order to determine the extent of learning.
Prerequisites
None
References
M.T. Madigan, J.M. Martinko, J. Parker, “Brock, Biologia dei Microrganismi”, Volumi 1 e 2, Casa Editrice
Ambrosiana, Milano, 2003; S. Aiba, A.E. Humphrey, N.F. Millis, “Biochemical Engineering”, 2nd edition, New
York, Academic Press, 1973; M. Marzona, “Chimica delle Fermentazioni & Microbiologia Industriale”, 2a
edizione, Piccin Nuova Libraria S.p.A., Padova, 1996. P. Barbieri, G. Bestetti, E. Galli e D. Zannoni (Eds.),
Microbiologia Ambientale ed Elementi di Ecologia Microbica, 1a edizione, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, Milano,
aprile 2008 (ISBN 978-88-08-18434-4)