Process Optimisation

4. Entry blog 9 October 2015: 4^th Bioprocessing class

This week’s lecture, we talked about fermentation. The advantages and disadvantages of continuous/batch/fed-batch process. We were asked during the class on what our definition of fermentation is. Being a food scientist, I had a firm grasp of what fermentation is “exploiting microorganisms to create a desired product”. I was quite familiar with bacterial growth rates however, this week’s lecture got me thinking on our bioprocess and the timing for the cheese production and the cracker production if it were to be the one product. The cracker would have a really long shelf-life even at room temperature, but the cheese is a different story and the product would probably have to be refrigerated in order to have sufficient shelf-life.

This week’s task was to design a website to act as an e-portfolio for the pseudo-company we are working for. This task was as enjoyable as it was difficult. I did not think it would be this difficult when I first started the task. There were as many factors to consider designing this website as there are in our bioprocess, which I found quite amusing, but I feel is an important part of the learning experience. Yes, you have all the information there, but is it presented in a clear, cohesive, processional manner. This was something that I needed to ponder.