Bioreactors: Control, Optimization and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Biochemical engineering deals with the processing of biological or chemical materials using enzymes or living cells as biological catalysts. At a central position in a biotechnological process is the bioreactor. Its role is frequently dominant on the overall technical and economical performance of the process. The characteristics of the biological reaction can also affect the requirements on the other steps of the process, such as the preparation of the media and the downstream operations for product recovery and purification.

Each bioconversion process is dependent on many factors including growth conditions, homogeneity of fermentation medium, cell density, etc. The decisions made in the design of bioreactors might have a significant impact on the overall process performance; in fact, bioreactor design/operation mode is an important key factor to achieve optimum conditions for maximum yield/productivity in fermentation; the main function of a properly designed bioreactor is to provide a controlled environment to achieve optimal growth and/or product formation in the particular cell system employed. In this regard, knowledge of reaction kinetics is essential to gain an understanding of the workings of a biological reactor. Other areas of bioprocess engineering, such as mass and energy balances, mixing, mass transfer, and heat transfer, are also required.

Moreover, qualitative and quantitative descriptions of a production process through the analysis of various parameters by automatic or manual methods are necessary for process control and optimization. The objects of process monitoring can be the environmental status or the varied values of operational variables. Through analysis, the cellular or engineering problems of a bioreactor on different scales can be identified. Inter-scale observation and operation are crucial in bioprocess optimization.

In this context, there is the necessity to research and improve the topic “Bioreactors: Control, Optimization and Applications”. The objective of this Topic Project is to showcase the diversity and advances in research that contributes to developing effective systems for the microorganism culture and bio-chemical production.

Original papers are solicited on experimental/theoretical studies on bioreactor systems. We are particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that integrate biology and engineering research and/or experimental and theoretical studies. We invite researchers from all areas of bioengineering to submit manuscripts for this important Topic Project.

Dr. Francesca Raganati
Dr. Alessandra Procentese
Topic Editors