Food Biotechnology and Industrial Fermentation

General

• Code: 276-190801
• Semester: 8th
• Study Level: Undergraduate
• Course type: Υποχρεωτικό, Ειδικού υποβάθρου
• Teaching and exams language: Greek
• Teaching Methods (Hours/Week): Lectures (2) / Laboratory (3)
• ECTS Units: 6
• Course homepage: https://exams-geo.the.ihu.gr/course/view.php?id=228
• Instructors: Goulas Athanasios

Course Contents

Introduction to food biotechnology

• Principles of biochemistry and molecular biology.
• Genetic material and protein synthesis.
• Microorganisms, their classification.

Isolation and characterization of industrially important microorganisms

• Isolation of industrially important microorganisms.
• Productivity improvement of the characteristic industrial microorganisms; primary and secondary biosynthetic products.

Culture maintenance and inoculate preparation

• Culture storage methods, quality control – effectiveness.
• Inoculate characteristics and preparation.
• Preparation of inoculate.
• Inoculation, design and elimination of contamination.

Introduction to fermentation processes

• Commercially important types of industrial fermentations.
• Historical overview of fermentation industry development.
• Constituent parts of fermentation processes.
• Growth of microorganisms and kinetics of microbial fermentations.
• Batch fermentations.
• Continuous fermentations.
• Multi-stage systems.
• Comparison between batch and continuous industrial fermentation processes.

Design and types of fermenters

• Basic functions of a fermenter.
• Aseptic operation and prevention of two-way contamination.
• Materials of construction.
• Temperature control.
• Stirring and air supply control.
• Aseptic operating conditions – achievement and maintenance.
• Other types of fermenters.
• Animal cell cultures – types of fermenters.

Substrates for industrial fermentations

• Basic characteristics of the substrate composition.
• Nutrient recycling and pH regulation.
• Precursors and regulators of metabolism, inhibitory and precursor factors.
• Oxygen, substrate rheology, antifoams.
• Substrate optimization.
• Substrates for animal cell cultures.

Sterilization

• Substrate sterilization.
• Continuous and discontinuous sterilization methods, design.
• Sterilization of the fermenter.
• Sterilization of the fermentation waste.
• Sterilization by filtration of substrate and air.

Fermentation monitoring and control

• Methods, sensors for measuring variables and their control/adjustment.
• Other sensors and control systems.
• Control of production processes.

Aeration and agitation

• Oxygen requirements and supply in factory fermentations – the KLa value.
• Rheology of fermentations, and factors affecting KLa values.
• Balance between oxygen supply and demand.
• Scale up.

Recovery and purification of fermentation products

• Removal of cells and other solid cell material.
• Floculation and settling.
• Filtration.
• Centrifugation.
• Cell disruption.
• Methods of recovery and purification of fermentation products.
• Important parameters for fermentation wastewater handling and treatment.

Enzymes

• Classification and kinetics of enzymes.
• Characterization of enzymes and optimization of their activity.
• Enzymatic bioreactors modes of operation.
• Enzymes in the food industry.

Biotechnology in the food industry

• Applications of biotechnology in food production.
• New food products through biotechnological processes.

New techniques in fermentation technology

• Production of heterologous proteins.
• Cell immobilization techniques.
• Use of pulsed electric fields.
• Ultrasound, and x-ray irradiation.
• New fermented dairy products, probiotics, prebiotics.
• New fermented sea products, algae.
• New types of fermentations in cereal and fruit vegetable products.

BIOTECHNOLOGY & INDUSTRIAL FERMENTATION LABORATORY

Introduction

• Keeping a lab-book, processing collected data, teacher and student evaluation.
• Bioreactors for microbial fermentations. Types, their main parts, modes of operation, control of microbiological fermentations (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, foaming), sterilization, inoculate preparation. Appropriate, based on the above conditions, preparation of the bioreactor. Substrate preparation, sterilization. Inoculate preparation.

Fermentation (this exercise requires more than 8 hours).

• Fermentation control (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, foaming) maximizing enzyme production. Methods for estimating microbial population and biomass production.
• Development stages of the microorganism. Stopping the fermentation, method of separating the microorganism from the liquid fermentation substrate (centrifugation, filtration), stabilization.

Enzyme activity

• Definition and determination of enzyme activity.
• Conditions under which the measurement of enzyme activity is carried out.
• Enzyme activity measurement.

Determination of optimal enzyme activity conditions (a)

• Desirable enzyme stability in industrial process design and factors affecting it.
• Determination of optimum pH for enzyme activity.
• Determination of optimum enzyme activity temperature a) enzyme activity basis and b) time stability basis. Determination of the necessary ions to achieve optimal enzyme activity.
• Stabilization of the enzyme with surfactants.

Determination of optimal enzyme activity conditions (b)

• Completion of the previous exercise.

Enzyme reaction kinetics

• Maximum reaction speed (Vmax), Michaelis Menden constant (Km).
• Determination of maximum reaction speed (Vmax), Michaelis Menden constant (Km) for the enzyme under study.

Immobilization of microorganisms and enzymes – enzyme bioreactors

• Types, ways and reasons of immobilization, applications of immobilized enzymes and microorganisms. Immobilization of Saccharomyces cereviciae preparation on alginate beads.
• Sucrose fermentation with immobilized and non-immobilized yeast.
• Monitoring of fermentation based on carbon dioxide or alcohol production.

Observation of enzyme activity through changes in the physical properties of solutions

• Synthesis from sucrose and subsequent dextran hydrolysis or starch hydrolysis, in dialysis tubes or in a bookfield or ubbelohde viscometer.
• Observation of enzyme reactions through the changes they cause in the properties of the solutions in which they are found. Matching the above changes to the degree of polymerization of the carbohydrates in the solution.

Educational Goals

• Basic concepts of Biotechnology related to Food Technology.
• New trends, possibilities and fields in biotechnology.
• Practical issues of applying biotechnological practices in the laboratory and production units.
• Microorganism fermentations on an industrial scale, the use of enzymes and their application in food.
• Industrial biotechnological equipment, its component parts and its basic operating parameters.
• Control microbiological fermentation pilot scale separation and purification of products.
• Handling, characterizing enzymes, carrying out enzyme reactions.

General Skills

• Search, analysis and synthesis of data and information using the necessary technologies.
• Adaptability to new situations and decision making.
• Autonomous work and Team work.
• Working in an international context.
• Planning and project management.
• Respect for the natural environment.
• Promoting free, creative and causative thinking.

Teaching Methods

Face to face:

• Lectures in the classroom using PC and projector.

Use of ICT means

• Lectures on PowerPoint slides using PC and projector.
• Notes in electronic format.
• Post course material and communicate with students on the Moodle online platform and email.

Teaching Organization

Students Evaluation

• Written Exams.

Recommended Bibliography

1. Renneberg Reinhard, Berkling Viola, Loroch Vanya, Süßbier Darja (2019), Βιοτεχνολογία-Βασικές Αρχές και Εφαρμογές, (Κ.Β. Εύδοξο: 86053293), ISBN: 9789925575381, Εκδότης: BROKEN HILL PUBLISHERS LTD.
2. ΡΟΥΚΑΣ ΤΡΙΑΝΤΑΦΥΛΛΟΣ (2009), ΒΙΟΤΕΧΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΤΡΟΦΙΜΩΝ, (Κ.Β.Εύδοξο: 8921), ISBN: 978-960-6700-30-9, Εκδότης: Σ. Γιαχούδης & ΣIA O.E.
3. Λιακοπούλου – Κυριακίδου Μαρία (2017), Βιοτεχνολογία με στοιχεία Βιοχημικής Μηχανικής, (Κ.Β. Εύδοξο: 68378193), ISBN: 978-960-456-486-6, Εκδότης: Ζήτη Πελαγία & Σια Ι.Κ.Ε.
4. Κυριακίδης Δημήτριος Α. (2000), Βιοτεχνολογία, (ΚΒ Εύδοξο: 11133), ISBN: 960-431-595-1, Εκδότης: Ζήτη Πελαγία & Σια Ι.Κ.Ε.
5. Shetty Κ., Paliyath G., Pometto A., Levin R.: Food Biotechnology. Editions CRC/Taylor & Francis, 2006.
6. Lee ΒΗ, Fundamentals of Food Biotechnology, Wiley Blackwell,2015, ISBN 978-1-118-38495-4.