Operation Fundamentals in Bioreactor Engineering-Medium Handling

This textbook covers essentials of in situ and auxiliary operations necessary to operate a bioreactor where living cells are utilized as biocatalysts. Special focus is given to critical steps in preparing and managing the culture medium as support for processing, such as medium formulation, inoculum preparation, buffering, foaming, and sterilization.

A pragmatic and systematic approach is provided to all such topics, from the point of view of a biological engineer – illustrated by selected and carefully solved problems, proposed at the end of each section. Mathematical derivations are put forward that are easy to follow step-by-step – even by students holding only elementary mathematical and biochemical backgrounds; and are developed at a pace suitable for self-learning. Furthermore, the functional forms and meanings of the expressions produced are explored, and the final germane formulae are duly highlighted and graphically interpreted in dimensionless form – to facilitate perception of major trends and asymptotic behaviours. Therefore, this textbook offers a valuable resource for both instructors and undergraduate/graduate students – as an aid to understand and relate basic physicochemical concepts underlying the actual operation of bioreactors, rather than conveying mere descriptions and empirical correlations.

This textbook and the companion volumes “Fundamentals of Biocatalysts: Cell Structure and Function”, “Operation Fundamentals in Bioreactor Engineering – Fluid Dynamics”, and “Modelling Fundamentals in Bioreactor Engineering” fill the gap between qualitative approaches focused on biochemistry, on the one hand; and technological approaches resorting to correlations that hardly convey a fundamental understanding of first principles, on the other.

F. Xavier Malcata is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Porto (Portugal), and a Senior Researcher at LEPABE/ALiCE, specialized in bioreactor engineering, bioprocess optimization, and food biotechnology. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Porto, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Food Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA), and a Habilitation in Food Science and Engineering from the Portuguese Catholic University. His leadership roles have included Dean of the College of Biotechnology (UCP), President of the Portuguese Society of Biotechnology, and CEO of several university-industry biotech-oriented initiatives.

Prof. Malcata has taught at top institutions in Portugal, covering key subjects such as bioreactor technology, fermentation engineering, enzyme engineering, and bioprocess control. His research focuses on bioreactor design and scale-up, medium formulation and nutrient delivery, microbial and enzymatic bioprocesses, metabolic engineering of microalgae for lipid production, and development of probiotic and functional foods.

He has published over 485 peer-reviewed articles, authored 21 books, and supervised 31 Ph.D. students. His work has earned international recognition from organizations such as the Institute of Food Technologists, American Oil Chemists’ Society, American Dairy Science Association, International Association for Food Protection, and European Federation of Food Science and Technology. According to the Stanford University global citation ranking, he is among the top 0.5% of the world’s most influential scientists.