Biochemical engineering. Biochemical engineering, also known as bioprocess engineering, is a field of study with roots stemming from chemical engineering and biological engineering. It mainly deals with the design, construction, and advancement of unit processes that involve biological organisms (such as fermentation) or organic molecules (often enzymes) and has various applications in areas of interest such as biofuels, food, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and water treatment processes. The role of a biochemical engineer is to take findings developed by biologists and chemists in a laboratory and translate that to a large-scale manufacturing process.

History 

For hundreds of years, humans have made use of the chemical reactions of biological organisms in order to create goods. In the mid-1800s, Louis Pasteur was one of the first people to look into the role of these organisms when he researched fermentation. His work also contributed to the use of pasteurization, which is still used to this day. By the early 1900s, the use of microorganisms had expanded, and was used to make industrial products. Up to this point, biochemical engineering hadn't developed as a field yet. It wasn't until 1928 when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin that the field of biochemical engineering was established. After this discovery, samples were gathered from around the world in order to continue research into the characteristics of microbes from places such as soils, gardens, forests, rivers, and streams. Today, biochemical engineers can be found working in a variety of industries, from food to pharmaceuticals. This is due to the increasing need for efficiency and production which requires knowledge of how biological systems and chemical reactions interact with each other and how they can be used to meet these needs.

Applications

Biotechnology 
Biotechnology and biochemical engineering are closely related to each other as biochemical engineering can be considered a sub-branch of biotechnology. One of the primary focuses of biotechnology is in the medical field, where biochemical engineers work to design pharmaceuticals, artificial organs, biomedical devices, chemical sensors, and drug delivery systems. Biochemical engineers use their knowledge of chemical processes in biological systems in order to create tangible products that improve people's health. Specific areas of studies include metabolic, enzyme, and tissue engineering. The study of cell cultures is widely used in biochemical engineering and biotechnology due to its many applications in developing natural fuels, improving the efficiency in producing drugs and pharmaceutical processes, and also creating cures for disease. Other medical applications of biochemical engineering within biotechnology are genetics testing and pharmacogenomics.

Food Industry 
Biochemical engineers primarily focus on designing systems that will improve the production, processing, packaging, storage, and distribution of food. Some commonly processed foods include wheat, fruits, and milk which undergo processes such as milling, dehydration, and pasteurization in order to become products that can be sold. There are three levels of food processing: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary food processing involves turning agricultural products into other products that can be turned into food, secondary food processing is the making of food from readily available ingredients, and tertiary food processing is commercial production of ready-to eat or heat-and-serve foods. Drying, pickling, salting, and fermenting foods were some of the oldest food processing techniques used to preserve food by preventing yeasts, molds, and bacteria to cause spoiling. Methods for preserving food have evolved to meet current standards of food safety but still use the same processes as the past. Biochemical engineers also work to improve the nutritional value of food products, such as in golden rice, which was developed to prevent vitamin A deficiency in certain areas where this was an issue. Efforts to advance preserving technologies can also ensure lasting retention of nutrients as foods are stored. Packaging plays a key role in preserving as well as ensuring the safety of the food by protecting the product from contamination, physical damage, and tampering. Packaging can also make it easier to transport and serve food. A common job for biochemical engineers working in the food industry is to design ways to perform all these processes on a large scale in order to meet the demands of the population. Responsibilities for this career path include designing and performing experiments, optimizing processes, consulting with groups to develop new technologies, and preparing project plans for equipment and facilities.

Pharmaceuticals 

In the pharmaceutical industry, bioprocess engineering plays a crucial role in the large-scale production of biopharmaceuticals, such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and therapeutic proteins. The development and optimization of bioreactors and fermentation systems are essential for the mass production of these products, ensuring consistent quality and high yields. For example, recombinant proteins like insulin and erythropoietin are produced through cell culture systems using genetically modified cells. The bioprocess engineer’s role is to optimize variables like temperature, pH, nutrient availability, and oxygen levels to maximize the efficiency of these systems. The growing field of gene therapy also relies on bioprocessing techniques to produce viral vectors, which are used to deliver therapeutic genes to patients. This involves scaling up processes from laboratory to industrial scale while maintaining safety and regulatory compliance. As the demand for biopharmaceutical products increases, advancements in bioprocess engineering continue to enable more sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing methods.

Education 
Auburn University

University of Georgia  (Biochemical Engineering)
Michigan Technological University
McMaster University
Technical University of Munich
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI Amgen Bioprocessing Center)
Kungliga Tekniska högskolan- KTH – Royal Institute of Technology (Dept. of Industrial Biotechnology)
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) 
University of Cape Town (Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research)
SUNY-ESF (Bioprocess Engineering Program)
Université de Sherbrooke
University of British Columbia
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
Savannah Technical College
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory)
University of Iowa (Chemical and Biochemical Engineering)
University of Minnesota (Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering)
East Carolina University
Jacob School of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Allahabad, India
Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi
 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
Jadavpur University
 Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI)
 Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK)
Universidade Federal de São João del Rei-UFSJ
Federal University of Technology – Paraná
Universidade Federal do Paraná-UFPR
São Paulo State University
Universidade Federal do Pará-UFPA
University of Louvain (UCLouvain)
University of Stellenbosch
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina State University
Virginia Tech
Ege University/Turkey (Department of Bioengineering)
National University of Costa Rica
University of Brawijaya (Department of Agricultural Engineering)
University of Indonesia
University College London (Department of Biochemical Engineering)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering Technology
University of Zagreb, Faculty of food technology and biotechnology, Croatia
Villanova University
Wageningen University
University College Dublin
Obafemi Awolowo University
University of Birmingham
Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila (Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas)
Silpakorn University Thailand
Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), School of Bioprocess Engineering (SBE)
Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Bioprocess Engineering
University of Queensland
Technical University of Denmark, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, BioEng Research Centre
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
National Institute of Applied Science and Technology Tunis (Industrial Biology Engineering Program)
Technical University Hamburg (TUHH)
Mapua University

Biochemical engineering is not a major offered by many universities and is instead an area of interest under the chemical engineering. The following universities are known to offer degrees in biochemical engineering:
 Brown University – Providence, RI
 Christian Brothers University – Memphis, TN
 Colorado School of Mines – Golden, CO
 Rowan University – Glassboro, NJ
 University of Colorado Boulder – Boulder, CO
 University of Georgia – Athens, GA
 University of California, Davis – Davis, CA
 University College London – London, United Kingdom
 University of Southern California – Los Angeles, CA
 University of Western Ontario – Ontario, Canada
 Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi – Varanasi, UP
 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – Delhi
 Institute of Technology Tijuana – México
 University of Baghdad, College of Engineering, Al-Khwarizmi Biochemical

See also

Biochemical engineering
Biofuel from algae
Biological hydrogen production (algae)
Bioprocess
Bioproducts engineering
Bioproducts
Bioreactor landfill
Biosystems engineering
Cell therapy
Downstream (bioprocess)
Electrochemical energy conversion
Food engineering
Industrial biotechnology
Microbiology
Moss bioreactor
Photobioreactor
Physical chemistry
Unit operations
Upstream (bioprocess)
Use of biotechnology in pharmaceutical manufacturing

References 

Shukla, A. A., Thömmes, J., & Hackl, M. (2012). Recent advances in downstream processing of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Biotechnology Advances, 30(3), 1548-1557.
Walsh, G. (2018). Biopharmaceuticals: Biochemistry and Biotechnology (3rd ed.). Wiley.