Fundamentals of Bioprocess Engineering

By Prof. Lalit M. Pandey | IIT Guwahati

Learners enrolled: 713 | Exam registration: 17

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course emphasizes the basic understanding of the bioprocess engineering. It starts with the fundamentals of the bioprocess engineering, its importance and role in the industrial biotechnology. It also covers the introductory part of the bioreactor, types, modes of operation and the various products of economic importance. The course discusses the microbial and enzyme kinetics. It highlights the importance of metabolic stoichiometry in media formulation. It also includes the mass transfer principles, downstream processing techniques and thus it will be helpful for the students and scholars of interdisciplinary domains. The course content was prepared in such a way that it will be applicable for UG, PG students and PhD scholars.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Under graduate and post graduate students, professional in the discipline of Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering

PREREQUISITES: Bachelor Degree in any Science/Engineering discipline

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Industries dealing with Bioprocess and fermentation technology like Biocon; Wockhardt; India Glycol Limited; Jubilant; Lupin

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Biological Sciences & Bioengineering Chemical Engineering Bioprocesses Minor 2 in Chemical
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	15 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	02 Nov 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to Bioprocess engineering; Metabolic stoichiometry

Overview of the fermentation process
Strain isolation and the process flow (Upstream and Downstream)
Metabolic pathways
Cell nutrients
Industrially important products

Week 2: Metabolic stoichiometry and energetics

Material and mass balance
Material balance for substrate intake and product formation
Bioprocess thermodynamics
Theoretical Yield

Week 3: Enzyme kinetics

Basics of enzyme catalysis
Michaelis Menton Kinetics
Types of enzyme kinetics (Single and bi-substrate)
Enzyme inhibition

Week 4: Applied enzyme catalysis

Types of enzyme immobilization
External and internal mass transfer
Minimizing mass transfer effects
Applications of enzymes

Week 5: Microbial kinetics

Microbial growth kinetics
Monod Equation
Transient growth kinetics
Types of metabolites (primary and secondary)

Week 6: Kinetics of substrate utilization, product formation and biomass production in cell cultures

Various types of structured kinetic models
Kinetics of balanced growth
Kinetics of substrate uptake
Product formation kinetics

Week 7: Design and analysis of biological reactors

Introduction to bioreactors
Design and components of the reactor
Various modes of Operation
Types (CSTR, PFR, Packed Bed, Membrane and Photo Bioreactor)
Bioreactors for animal and plant cells

Week 8: Gas-Liquid mass transfer in bioprocess systems

Mass transfer theories
Diffusion and the relevant theories
Role of aeration and agitation
Oxygen transfer from bubbles to the cells
Measurement of oxygen mass transfer coefficient

Week 9: Heat transfer in bioprocess systems; Scale-up

Heat Transfer in Bioprocessing
Cell death kinetics
Batch and Continuous Sterilization
Heat transfer equipment
Bioprocess scale up criteria

Week 10: Bioprocess instrumentation and control

Sensors for bioreactors
Measurement of process parameters
Process control Systems
Process dynamics
Controllers

Week 11: Product recovery

Importance of Downstream Processing
Various techniques used in product recovery
Cell separation and disruption
Centrifugation, filtration, sedimentation
Extraction and Chromatography

Week 12: Product recovery; Bioprocess economics.

Adsorption
Membrane separation
Drying
Introduction to the Bioprocess economics
Economic analysis of the fermentation process

Books and references

J. E. Bailey and D. F. Ollis, Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals, 2nd Edition, New York, McGraw-Hill. P. M. Doran, Bioprocess Engineering Principles, 2nd Edition Elsevier Science & Technology Books. H. W. Blanch and D. S. Clark, Biochemical Engineering, 2nd Edition, CRC Press, Marcel, Dekker Inc. M. L. Shuler, F. Kargi, Bioprocess Engineering: Basic Concepts, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall

Instructor bio

Prof. Lalit M. Pandey

IIT Guwahati

Prof. Lalit M. Pandey is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He was awarded an Erasmus Mundus India4EU fellowship to pursue research at the Laboratoire des Matériaux et du Génie Physique (LMGP), Grenoble-INP, France from 2010 to 2012. Before joining the IIT Guwahati, he worked as a Scientist with the Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India from 2009 to 2014, and researched on water and air pollution in agro-based industries. He has received several awards, including the BRSI Malaviya Memorial Award (Young Faculty) 2020, Shastri Covid-19 Pandemic Response Grant (SCPRG) 2020, the DST-UKIERI Award (2018), the IEI (The Institution of Engineers [India]) Young Engineers Award (2017), Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Faculty Award (2014) and an Early Career Research Award from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. His main research interests include biochemical and biointerface engineering. He has published over one hundred twenty six articles in peer-reviewed international journals, more than thirty four book chapters and serves on the editorial board of five international journals. He is serving as Associate Editor in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. He has co-edited four books published by Springer Nature. He is a life member of the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), the National Academy of Sciences (NASI), Biotech Research Society, India (BRSI), the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), and Nano and Molecular Society (India), and serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: November 02, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Guwahati .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team

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