University of Bologna

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

The module aim is to provide students with basic knowledge of industrial biotechnological process design, including elements of bioreactors, downstream processing and principles of bioreactors scale-up. Cutting-edge biotechnological approaches used for the production of functional foods and food ingredients, such as probiotics, prebiotics, nutraceutics and enzymes will be provided. The students will also be exposed to the principles of biotechnology-based genetic improvement of crop species. Furthermore, the course will provide an overview on the marine and terrestrial microorganisms of interest for the biodegradation of organic pollutants and the production of bio-based products for environmental/industrial applications, and on the main processes for the bioremediation of contaminated sites and the treatment of industrial effluents. A further goal of the course is to describe the economic characteristics and related technical bases of primary production of raw materials for the bioeconomy. It includes the ability of understanding essential economic statistics and the mechanisms of reaction of the sector to markets and policies.

COURSE CONTENTS

Material balance, design and scale-up of bioreactors. Main unit operations involved in downstream processing. Use of process simulators for biotech process design. Metagenomics of the human gut microbiota to identify microbial candidates for the development of probiotics and prebiotics. Biotechnological production of nutraceuticals. Introduction to plant breeding with emphasis on biotechnological approaches (marker-assisted selection – MAS -, genetic engineering, genome editing). Microbiological and technological aspects related to the bioremediation of soils and sediments and the treatment of industrial wastewaters. Biosurfactants, enzymes and bioactive compounds produced by marine bacteria and their applications. Main characteristics of the supply of raw materials in the bioeconomy. Description of annual and perennial biomass crops: limits and opportunities for their development in fertile and marginal lands. Main characteristics of the demand of raw materials in the bioeconomy. Market structures. Forms of integration and organization: chains, contracts, districts, international markets. Bioeconomy policies. Specificity of the concept of efficiency and of the mechanisms of innovation.

 Hours: 24 

Marine and environmental Biotechnology

Microorganisms and their metabolic pathways for the biodegradation/biotransformation of organic pollutants (Prof. Giulio Zanaroli, CHIM/11 University of Bologna, 2 hours)
Biological processes for the sustainable remediation of contaminated sites, marine sediments and industrial water (Prof. Giulio Zanaroli, CHIM/11 University of Bologna, 3 hours)
Unravelling and exploiting Sea microbial diversity and ecology for the production of biobased products and the biodegradation of pollutants (Prof.ssa Noura Raddadi, CHIM/11 University of Bologna, 3 hours)

Industrial bioprocesses

Design and scale up of bioreactors for the production of primary and secondary metabolites (Prof. Davide Pinelli e Prof. Dario Frascari, ING-IND/25, University of Bologna, 3 hours)
Downstream methods and approches in the BioBased industry (Prof.ssa Cristiana Boi, ING-IND/24, University of Bologna, 3 hours)
Safety issues in the scale-up of biotech processes; assessment and control of environmental and sustainability issues in biotech plants (Prof. Alessandro Tugnoli, ING-IND/25, University of Bologna, 2 hours)

Biotechnological production of functional foods and nutraceuticals

Piloting the human health through the diet modulation of gut microbiome (Prof. Marco Candela, CHIM/11 University of Bologna, 2 hours)
Industrial production of pre and probiotics, nutraceuticals and bioactive compounds for the production of functional and pharma-foods (Prof.ssa Patrizia Brigidi, CHIM/11, University of Bologna, 3 hours)
Principles, application and potentiality of biotechnology-based genetic improvement of crop species. (Prof. Silvio Salvi, AGR/07, University of Bologna, 3 hours)

 Hours: 16