Downstream processing in biotechnology (e-Book)

Separating and purifying the desired product is an important part of any bio-project. This processing `downstream from the fermenter is both difficult and expensive. This book introduces all the common techniques, starting in the lab and ending in the plant. We have written it for undergraduates in process engineering (biotechnological, mechanical or chemical) and graduate microbiologists doing a minor on the technology that is required to scale up their experiments to a commercial scale. The exciting part of biotechnology is thought to be `bio. That is the place for novel ideas, funding, research, patents However `technology comes behind that - without technology, no idea will make it to the market. An important part of technology is downstream processing: the separation and purification of the bio-product. This is usually the most expen-sive part of a bio-project, and it can require much ingenuity and a huge effort to develop a process that is clean and economic. The development of a downstream process starts in the lab, but ends with a plant. The plant may have to produce a million times the amounts made in the lab. The challenge is to end with a good plant. To do this two groups of people have to work together. These are the lab people micro-biologists, biochemists and the process engineers. We have tried to write a book that introduces the subject to both of you. In eleven lessons it describes all the common steps used in downstream processing, starting in the lab and ending in the plant. The idea is a course of perhaps one or two weeks, depending on your starting knowledge.