Title: Biotech innovations: Bioengineering potential for novel biomanufacturing systems
Abstract:
We examine new biomanufacturing ideas, and re-examine certain “old but not obsolete” ones for recycling agricultural and industrial waste residues into commercial products such as biofuels, biopharmaceuticals and food products. In particular, we explore the use of abundant recurring residues such as cellulosic byproducts (from agricultural and forestry/paper-making operations), glycerol (from biodiesel production) and liquid hydrocarbons (from unused petroleum reservoirs) as unconventional fermentation substrates for potential fermentation bioprocesses. In addition to the techno-economic benefits, these ideas address prevailing urgent socio-economic concerns of environmental pollution control and concurrent clean alternative energy concepts.
We focus on resolutions of constraints of the relevant bioreactor conversion systems in dealing with recalcitrance and/or fragile microbial and substrate materials. Positive social aspects are noted… Reduction of negative environmental impact of industrial animal husbandry and eventual availability of unused dormant petroleum oil reservoirs following eventual elimination of negative environmental carbon-imprint for establishment of healthy clean atmospheres worldwide. Expertise in genetic-microbial and bio-process engineering applications are used to tackle the complicated problems. Especially, the physical rate processes of mass, heat and momentum transfers in these fermentation biological systems need to be quantified with engineering equation correlations for design, operation and control of the potential fermentation scale-up to commercialization…In this talk, hopefully the somewhat radical ideas will encourage others to join us to “think outside the box” (with extraordinary extrapolations).
