IMPORTANT NOTICE for Chemical and Bioengineering students: There are two different version of this course for the two regulations (2005/2018), please make sure to register for the correct version according to the regulations you are enrolled in. Please do not register for this course if you are enrolled in regulations 2005.
Polymerization reactions and processes. Homogeneous and heterogeneous (emulsion) kinetics of free radical polymerization. Post treatment of polymer colloids. Bioprocesses for the production of molecules and therapeutic proteins. Kinetics and design of aggregation processes of macromolecules and proteins.
Learning objective
The aim of the course is to learn how to design polymerization reactors and bioreactors to produce polymers and proteins with the specific product qualities that are required by different applications in chemical, pharmaceutical and food industry. This activity includes the post-treatment of polymer latexes, the downstream processing of proteins and the analysis of their colloidal behavior.
Content
We will cover the fundamental processes and the operation units involved in the production of polymeric materials and proteins. In particular, the following topics are discussed: Overview on the different polymerization processes. Kinetics of free-radical polymerization and use of population balance models. Production of polymers with controlled characteristics in terms of molecular weight distribution. Kinetics and control of emulsion polymerization. Surfactants and colloidal stability. Aggregation kinetics and aggregate structure in conditions of diffusion and reaction limited aggregation. Modeling and design of colloid aggregation processes. Physico-chemical characterization of proteins and description of enzymatic reactions. Operation units in bioprocessing: upstream, reactor design and downstream. Industrial production of therapeutic proteins. Characterization and engineering of protein aggregation. Protein aggregation in biology and in biotechnology as functional materials.
R.J. Hunter, Foundations of Colloid Science, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2001 D. Ramkrishna, Population Balances, Academic Press, 2000 H.W. Blanch, D. S. Clark, Biochemical Engineering, CRC Press, 1995
Performance assessment
Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course