CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING 375 Syllabus

Biochemical Engineering, Winter 2019

Tech M152, MTWF 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Instructor: Danielle Tullman-Ercek

3619 Silverman Hall, 847-491-7043
Email: ercek@northwestern.edu
Office hours: Tues TBD, Fri 2:00 – 3:00 pm

TA: Erika Arvay Blake Rasor

ErikaArvay2022@u.northwestern.edu BlakeRasor2023@u.northwestern.edu
Office hours: TBD TBD
Location: TBD TBD

Required Textbook:
Bioprocess Engineering (2017) by Michael Shuler, Fikret Kargi, and Matthew DeLisa

Reference Texts
Voet, D.; Voet, J. G. Biochemistry, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1995.
Creighton, T. E. Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties, 2nd ed.; W. H. Freeman &
Co.: New York, 1993.
Alberts, B., et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th ed.; Garland Publishing, Inc.: New
York, 2002.
Nester, E. W., et al. Microbiology, 3rd ed.; Saunder College Publishing: New York, 1983.
Bailey, J.; Ollis D. Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals, 2nd ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York
1986.

Course Description:
This course is intended to introduce chemical engineers to the basic concepts of biochemical
engineering, with a focus on upstream processes. The course demonstrates how chemical
engineering skills and principles can be used in the analysis and design of biologically-based
processes. The emphases of this course will be on enzyme kinetics, fermentation, bioreactors,
and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics.

Prerequisites:
Chem_Eng 307 and 323, or consent of instructor.

Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will have learned:
• the fundamental properties of amino acids and proteins;
• the terminology of biochemical engineering;
• mechanisms of enzymatic reactions; how to derive rate equations for single-substrate
enzymatic reactions; transition-state theory and enzyme inhibition; design principles
for
 Syllabus: Chem_Eng 375 – Biochemical Engineering (cont.)

enzyme inhibitors;
• theory of external and internal mass transfer effects on immobilized enzyme and cell
kinetics;
• determination of external and internal effectiveness factors for immobilized
biocatalysts;
• stoichiometry and energetics of cellular growth; unstructured growth models; kinetics
of
substrate consumption and bioproduct formation;
• design and analysis of batch and continuous stirred tank bioreactors (chemostats);
packed bed bioreactors
• formulation of two-phase (gas-liquid) mass balances for continuous bioreactors;
estimation of the mass transfer coefficient kLa;
• the Power number and how to determine the power requirements for mixing
bioreactors
• basic principles of sterilization and how to design batch and continuous sterilizers;

Course Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Derive rate equations from the mechanisms of enzymatic reactions and determine the
primary kinetic and inhibition parameters;
• Determine whether an immobilized enzyme reaction is limited by mass transfer and
estimate the corresponding effectiveness factor(s);
• Apply mass and energy conservation criteria to balance stoichiometric equations for
microbial growth and product formation, and calculate relevant yield coefficients;
• Analyze microbial growth, substrate consumption, and product formation in batch
reactors and chemostats; calculate steady-state concentrations in a chemostat;
calculate
steady-state conversions for enzymatic reactions in a packed bed reactor
• Derive material balances for two-phase bioreactors and estimate kLa values;
determine
power requirements for mixing multi-phase bioreactors
• Analyze and design batch and continuous sterilization processes;

Grading:
5% Participation
15% Homework Sets
22.5% Midterm Exam 1
22.5% Midterm Exam 2
35% Final Exam

Exams will be challenging and you will need to study extensively to perform well. All exams will
be written and consist of problem sets, short answer, multiple choice, and/or true/false
questions. Midterm exams will be held according to the schedule below. The exams will be
closed book and closed notes. Only NON-graphing calculators will be allowed. All cell phones
must be stored away during exams. Use of a cell phone or texting during an exam will lead to an
automatic F. Exams cannot be made up - if an exam must be missed due to illness or family
crisis then the Final Exam score will be substituted for the missed exam. This can only be done
once and students that must miss more than one exam should consider dropping the course.

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 Syllabus: Chem_Eng 375 – Biochemical Engineering (cont.)

Midterm Exam 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 29, for 50 minutes.

Midterm Exam 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, February 26, for 50 minutes.

The Final Exam is scheduled for Friday, March 22, from 9:00 to 11:00 am.

There will be no regrades. If you notice an error in totaling the points (this is NOT a regrade),
attach the note to your exam and return it to the instructor. This procedure must be followed
within one week of the time the exams are initially returned to the class; after that period the
exam will not be retotaled. In addition, we will review the entire exam when retotaling the score.
If there is a disagreement after this process, you can visit with the Instructor during office hours.

Quizzes may be given throughout the semester, at random, but are not counted toward your
grade except as participation (present/not present). They are meant to guide you in your
thinking about the topics and prepare you for homework and exams. Homework sets will be
assigned approximately weekly and the lowest homework grade will be dropped. Homework is
due at the beginning of class on the due date, and will not be accepted late. Generally
homework will be assigned, and due, on Wednesdays.

Tentative Lecture Schedule on Following Page

Note that the TAs will teach several of the special topics lectures on Tuesdays. These are
required, and will touch on cutting-edge topics in the field. These topics will be included on
homework and exams.

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 Syllabus: Chem_Eng 375 – Biochemical Engineering (cont.)

Date Topic Reading Assignment

7-Jan Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering Ch. 1; 2.1.0; 12.5; 3.5*
8-Jan Simple enzyme kinetics 3.0-3.1; 3.2.0-3.2.2
9-Jan Complex enzyme kinetics 3.2.3; 3.2.4*
11-Jan Complex enzyme kinetics
14-Jan Immobilized catalysis and mass transfer effects 3.3
15-Jan Special topics
16-Jan Immobilized catalysis and mass transfer effects
18-Jan Cell growth, death, metabolism 6.0-6.1.2; 7.0; 7.2.0-7.2.1
21-Jan No class - MLK Day
22-Jan Special topics
23-Jan Batch culture in bioreactors 6.1.3-6.1.4; 7.2.2-7.4
25-Jan Batch culture in bioreactors 6.2.0-6.2.1.3
28-Jan Modeling growth kinetics 6.3.0-6.3.1
29-Jan Midterm 1 Material through 1/18
30-Jan Modeling growth kinetics
1-Feb Chemostats and continuous culture 6.3.2-6.4; 7.1
4-Feb Chemostats and continuous culture
5-Feb Special topics
6-Feb Method selection; recycle, multiple CSTRs 9.0-9.2.2; 9.2.4
8-Feb Fed-batch reactors; immobilized cells 9.2.3.; 9.3.0; 9.3.1*
11-Feb Immobilized cells in bioreactors 9.3.4
12-Feb Special topics
13-Feb Mixing and aeration in bioreactors 10.0-10.1.5
15-Feb Mixing and aeration in bioreactors
18-Feb Scale-up: oxygen and CO2 in bioreactors 10.1.6-10.2
19-Feb Special topics
20-Feb Scale-up: oxygen and CO2 in bioreactors
22-Feb Sterilization 10.3
25-Feb Animal cell culture 12.0-12.4*
26-Feb Midterm 2 Material through 2/20
27-Feb Animal cell growth and metabolism Supplements
1-Mar Animal cell product formation and quality 12.5; 4.4.3
4-Mar Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics Supplements
5-Mar Special topics
6-Mar Dosage, drug permeability, and transport in the body Supplements
8-Mar Physiological models Supplements
11-Mar Compartmental models Supplements
12-Mar Special topics
13-Mar Case studies: Biopharmaceuticals
15-Mar Biopharmaceutical economics
Note: * indicates you need only skim this section