78654 - Laboratoty of Industrial and Enviromental Biotechnologies

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Chemical and Process Engineering (cod. 8896)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have knowledge on: - the new trends and developments of White Biotechnology for the modern chemical, textile, pharma, cosmetic and bioenergy industry (multipurpose biomass and biowaste Biorefinery); and - the biotechnology approaches for the sustainable remediation of contaminated sites, sediments and industrial wastewaters.

Course contents

Requirements/Prior knowledge

A prior knowledge and understanding of organic chemistry, microbiology and biotechnology is suggested to attend with profit this course.

This knowledge can be acquired through the Courses: "Organic Chemistry and Laboratory T", which is proposed at the first year of the First cycle degree/Bachelor in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Bologna (which also includes chemical laboratory experiences); and Biochemistry and Biotechnology for the Chemical Industry T", which is proposed at the second year of the same degree.

Fluent spoken and written English is a necessary pre-requisite: all lectures and tutorials will be in English.

 

Course Contents

Part of the course will be organized in class sessions where the type and phases of experimental designs, sampling and analytical methods and examples of data analysis and interpretation will be examined for experiments dedicated to the optimization of biotechnological processes for the production of biomolecules and the (bio)remediation of contaminated soils and sediments.

Part of the course will be dedicated to laboratory experiments performed by the students individually or in small groups on the techniques for the cultivation of microorganisms and the determination of the kinetic parameters describing their growth on a given substrate (specific growth rate, substrate affinity constant, biomass yield coefficient, etc.), the optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis of biomasses to obtain fermentable sugars and the production of metabolites of industrial interest.

 

Readings/Bibliography

All necessary material will be provided by the Teacher.

In particular, protocols explaining the activities, which will be carried out in the lab, will be provided and discussed during theoretical lessons before proceeding to the lab.

Teaching methods

Classroom lectures and laboratory experiences.  

Each lecture will be dedicated to the elaboration, interpretation and discussion of data collected during the previous laboratory experiment as well as to anticipation and clarification of the activities which will be carried out in the next lab.

Students will be asked to take notes and to provide a final report, including all experiences. The report will be organized in the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and discussion

 

In consideration of the types of activities and teaching methods adopted, all students must attend Modules 1 and 2 in e-learning mode [https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas], while Module 3 on health and safety is to be attended in class. Information about Module 3 attendance schedule is available on the website of the degree programme.

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview in order to assess the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student.

To this aim, the students will be asked to present and defend two topics of their report.

Teaching tools

All necessary material will be provided by the Teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Noura Raddadi

SDGs

Good health and well-being Sustainable cities

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.