Biochemical Engineering
A Definition

Edward T. Woodruff is experienced in Biochemical Engineering.  This is an information sheet designed for your edification and interest.  Hopefully you will want to learn more about our contributions and performance results.  To do so, please see Home and Accomplishments. 

Biochemical Engineering is the application of (chemical) engineering disciplines to living systems. While humans might thought to be covered via the Biochemical Engineering phrase, the Biochemical Engineering field as used here is meant to cover other than humans. 

At Grace Research Edward T. Woodruff was appointed to head up the bound enzyme task force.  Our job was to develop technology to make bound enzyme medical diagnostic tubing.  We also contributed to the amino acid parental nutritional therapy blending and packaging program.  This involved producing pyrogen free products.  Also at W. R. Grace Research the Biochemical Engineering encompassed the packed column approach the make aspartic acid.  Phenylalanine was made by a fermentation process

Biochemical engineering applies the disciplines of reaction kinetics, heat and mass transfer, and fluid flow to the field covered by biochemical engineering. This means that the chemical engineer has a definite role to play in the biochemical engineering field as the disciplines listed here for biochemical engineering come from the chemical engineering arena. There is an additional aspect here, however. Biochemical engineering covers the ground where living systems are involved. Biochemical engineering goes beyond the scope of “normal” chemical engineering in that clean in place systems, sterilization, and inert gas stainless steel welding are involved.

Biochemical engineering covers the fields of fermentation as well as packed columns using whole cells or bound enzymes to achieve the reaction of interest.  Industrially biochemical engineering uses fermentation to make penicillin, citric acid and ethyl alcohol for example. Perhaps the biochemical engineering ethyl alcohol fermentation is the one of most recent interest. Here biochemical engineering makes an important oxygenated additive to gasoline to facilitate clean air requirements in those states that need oxygenates.

See also biochemical engineer and biochemical process design.

See also Accomplishments.