NPLK24002U Fermentation at Scale

Volume 2024/2025
Education

MSc Programme in Biosolutions

Content

The course will familiarize the students with the general concepts, different types of fermentation and challenges of fermentation at industrial production scale. The teaching will be based on industrial case studies.

 

The key contents of the course include:

  • Principles of the different types of fermentation 
  • Organism growth requirements/conditions
  • Growth and stress physiology and conditions
  • Fermentation process monitoring
  • Operational hygiene and cycling
  • Quality and regulatory compliance specific to fermentation
  • By-products and waste streams: opportunities for valorization in industrial symbiosis.
Learning Outcome

Upon completion of this course, the students will have demonstrated the following knowledge, skills, and competences:

 

Knowledge:

  • Know the principles for the different types of fermentation
  • Knowledge of growth and stress physiology of production organisms and the fermentation conditions needed in each case
  • Able to understand the different parameters for growth requirements and conditions
  • Understand the parameters behind upscaling

 

Skills:

  • Be able to design an optimal setup for fermentation including specifications for monitoring systems in biological production systems
  • Ability to design a fermentation strategy for a given product
  • Be able to use data to evaluate and optimize production e.g. calculation of mass balance, etc
  • Must be able to communicate the set up and design and discuss this with peers

 

Competences:

  • Cultivate strong collaboration abilities
  • Be able to recognize the needed data to analyze for optimization of production and upscaling
Literature

See Absalon for manuals and course literature, including scientific articles.

An academic qualification equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.
It is recommended to have knowledge of production organisms and their use in industry corresponding to the qualifications from the course “Biological Production Hosts: Bench to Pilot Scale”. It is also recommended to have insights into bioprocessing.
Teaching and learning in this course encompass a variety of methods, including:
• Lectures: Theoretical concepts, theories, and methods for biological processes.
• Industry Visits: Excursions (on site) + visits to see fermentation processes and the equipment.
• Extensive Laboratory Work: Students are introduced to fermentation and which the parameters are needed to design and monitor for growth and upscaling. The students will have to describe the laboratory exercises in reports.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 16
  • Preparation
  • 104
  • Exercises
  • 12
  • Excursions
  • 8
  • Laboratory
  • 45
  • Project work
  • 20
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Total
  • 206
Individual
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester

There will be oral and written feedback during the course. During the laboratory excersises there will be oral feedback, and there will be written feedback for the reports.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 minutes (no preparation time)
Type of assessment details
The individual oral examination consists of examination in the laboratory work and in the curriculum.
Exam registration requirements

Approval of 2 laboratory reports, one per fermentation exercise.

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam

Same as the ordinary exam.

Hand-in of the 2 laboratory reports is a prerequisite. If the requirement is not met, the laboratory reports needs to be handed in 3 weeks before the reexam.

Criteria for exam assesment

In order to obtain a grade of 12, the student should convincingly and accurately demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and competences described under the Learning Outcomes.