Bioproducts engineering or bioprocess engineering refers to engineering of
bio-products from
renewable
A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...
bioresources. This pertains to the design and development of processes and technologies for the sustainable manufacture of bioproducts (materials, chemicals and energy) from renewable biological resources.
Bioproducts engineers harness the molecular building blocks of renewable resources to design, develop and manufacture environmentally friendly industrial and consumer products. From
biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
s,
renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
, and
bioplastic
Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural ...
s to paper products and "green" building materials such as bio-based composites, Bioproducts engineers are developing sustainable solutions to meet the world's growing materials and
energy demand
World energy supply and consumption is global production and preparation of fuel, generation of electricity, energy transport, and energy consumption. It is a basic part of economic activity. It includes heat, but not energy from food.
This art ...
. Conventional bioproducts and emerging bioproducts are two broad categories used to categorize bioproducts. Examples of conventional bio-based products include building materials,
pulp and paper
The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products.
Manufacturing process
The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...
, and
forest products
A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in for ...
. Examples of emerging bioproducts or
biobased product Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources.
Bioresources
Biological resources include agriculture, forestry, and biologically-derived waste, and there are many other renewable ...
s include
biofuels
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
,
bioenergy
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biom ...
, starch-based and cellulose-based
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
, bio-based adhesives, biochemicals, biodegradable plastics, etc. Bioproducts Engineers play a major role in the design and development of "green" products including biofuels, bioenergy, biodegradable plastics, biocomposites, building materials, paper and chemicals. Bioproducts engineers also develop energy efficient, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes for these products as well as effective end-use applications. Bioproducts engineers play a critical role in a sustainable 21st century bio-economy by using renewable resources to design, develop, and manufacture the products we use every day. The career outlook for bioproducts engineers is very bright with employment opportunities in a broad range of industries, including pulp and paper, alternative energy, renewable plastics, and other fiber, forest products, building materials and chemical-based industries.
Commonly referred to as
bioprocess
A bioprocess is a specific process that uses complete living cells or their components (e.g., bacteria, enzymes, chloroplasts) to obtain desired products.
Transport of energy and mass is fundamental to many biological and environmental processes ...
engineering,
bioprocess engineering
Bioprocess engineering, also biochemical engineering, is a specialization of chemical engineering or biological engineering. It deals with the design and development of equipment and processes for the manufacturing of products such as agriculture, ...
is a specialization of
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
,
biological engineering
Biological engineering or
bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...
,
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
or of
agricultural engineering
Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical, civil, ...
. It deals with the design and development of equipment and processes for the manufacturing of products such as food, feed, pharmaceuticals,
nutraceuticals
A nutraceutical or bioceutical is a pharmaceutical alternative which claims physiological benefits. In the US, "nutraceuticals" are largely unregulated, as they exist in the same category as dietary supplements and food additives by the FDA, und ...
, chemicals, and polymers and paper from biological materials. Bioprocees engineering is a conglomerate of mathematics, biology and industrial design, and consists of various spectrums like designing of fermentors, study of
fermentors (mode of operations etc.). It also deals with studying various biotechnological processes used in industries for large scale production of biological product for optimization of yield in the end product and the quality of end product. Bio process engineering may include the work of mechanical, electrical and industrial engineers to apply principles of their disciplines to processes based on using living cells or sub component of such cells.
See also
*
Biochemicals
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
*
Biofact (biology)
In biology, a biofact is dead material of a once-living organism.
In 1943, the protozoologist Bruno M. Klein of Vienna (1891–1968) coined the term in his article ''Biofakt und Artefakt'' in the microscopy journal ''Mikrokosmos'', though at that ...
*
Biogas
Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a ...
*
Biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
*
Biomass (ecology)
The biomass is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. Biomass can refer to ''species biomass'', which is the mass of one or more species, or to ''community biomass'', which is the mass of all spe ...
*
Biorefining Biorefining is the process of "building" multiple products from biomass as a feedstock or raw material much like a petroleum refinery that is currently in use. A biorefinery is a facility like a petroleum refinery that comprises the various process ...
*
Bioresource engineering Bioresource engineering is similar to biological engineering, except that it is based on biological and/or agricultural feedstocks. Bioresource engineering is more general and encompasses a wider range of technologies and various elements such as ...
*
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
*
Non-timber forest product
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, seed ...
*
Outline of forestry
The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:
Forestry – science and craft of creating, managing, using, conserving, and repairing forests and associated resources to meet desired goals, needs, and values for ...
Colleges and universities
*
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
(Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering)
*
SUNY-ESF (Bioprocess Engineering Program)
*
Université de Sherbrooke
The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...
*
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
*
Savannah Technical College
Savannah Technical College (Savannah Tech) is a public community college in Savannah, Georgia, with additional satellite campuses in the Savannah-Hinesville-Statesboro Combined Statistical Area.
Academics
Savannah Technical College is accredite ...
*
East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
*
Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai
*
Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...
*
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the ...
*
Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul
*
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
*
NC State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
*
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
*
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
*
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
*
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Bowyer, J.L., Ramaswamy, S. Bioenergy development: Alignment is essential, Part 1, Bioenergy Technologies Tappi Publication, January 2009, p14-17
* Bowyer, J.L., Ramaswamy, S. Bioenergy development: Alignment is essential for Bioenergy Development, Part II, Exploring possible scenarios resulting from a supply gap, and possible effects of bioenergy development in environmental quality Tappi Publication, March 2009, p16-19
External links
''U.S. DOE Biomass Program''Energy Title (Title IX) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
Sustainable agriculture
Biotechnology
Sustainable business
Sustainable forest management