BIO4105 Bioproduction and Biorefining Technology
- Course codeBIO4105
- Number of credits10
- Teaching semester2026 Spring
- Language of instruction and examinationEnglish
- CampusHamar
- Required prerequisite knowledge
Microbiology, biochemistry with emphasis on enzymology/kinetics and fermentative metabolism.
- Biomass characteristics (lignocelluloses, food waste, crop residues), analytical methods,
- Biorefinery technologies for biomass treatment, including pulping, physical, thermal, enzymatic, and solvent extraction methods (solid-liquid, liquid-liquid)
- Microbial conversions, including fermentation technology, reactor types, growth kinetics, mass balance, and yields
- Downstream processing with a focus on the recovery and purification of valuable proteins and other bio-based compounds
- Enzyme technology, process solutions, free and immobilized catalyst, reaction conditions, and kinetics
- The lab course consists of (1) characterization of lignocellulosic biomass (hemi-/ cellulose, lignin, ash); (2) pretreatment of biomass (high-temperature processing, organosolv, autoclave); (3) analysis of pretreated streams (solids: hemi-/cellulose, lignin; liquid: sugars by HPLC); (4) enzymatic saccharification (cellulases, reaction conditions, sugar yield); (5) ethanolic fermentation (yield, gas evolution, HPLC analysis); (6) data analysis (calculation of yields and mass balances, the effect of treatments and reaction conditions).
The course concludes with a seminar where the student groups present their results and interpretation, followed by an examination and discussion. Evaluation is pass/no pass.
Learning outcome
Upon passing the course, students have achieved the following learning outcomes:
Students
- have thorough understanding of biological and biomass conversion processes, given the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (#):
- increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes (cf. #9.4)
- sustainable use of natural resources (cf. #12.2 and 12.5)
Students
- can use the principles and applications of technologies in the bioconversion of biomasses and substrates to valuable products.
- can analyze and evaluate different scenarios of biorefinery and biotechnological production.
- can give oral presentations where experimental results are explained.
Students
- can face challenges and see possibilities with valorizing biomass materials and residues for the production of biobased derivatives.
- understand how and why bioprocessing is employed to produce biobased derivatives and biotechnology products.
- have profound knowledge of the main workflow and logic behind bioprocessing both on lab and industrial scale and ability to identify unit operations.
- Lectures, approx. 30 hrs.
- Laboratory course consisting of 6-8 of ½ days after completion of lectures
- Excursions to relevant regional operations
- Guest lecturers
- In-class activities
Normally, evaluation of all courses must be carried out. Time/date and method are decided in consultation with student representatives. The course coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the evaluation is carried out.
- Attendance at 100% of the scheduled introductory lab lecture.
- Attendance at 100% of the laboratory course.
- Attendance at 100% of scheduled seminar and assessment.
- The laboratory course must be passed.
| Form of assessment | Grading scale | Grouping | Duration of assessment | Support materials | Proportion | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Written examination with supervision | ECTS - A-F | Individual | 4 Hour(s) | 100 |
- 4-hour individual written school exam
Performance is assessed using a grading scale from A-F, where E is the lowest passing grade.
Reading list
No reading list available for this course