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Operational Modes of Bioreactors
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book reviews Teach yourself bioreactors Bioreactor Design and Product Yield
BIOTOL Series, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992. UK£19.95 (x + 275pages) ISBN 0 7506 1509 5 Operational Modes o f Bioreactors
BIOTOL Series, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992. UK£19.95 (x + 282 pages) ISBN 0 7506 1508 7 Many industries are being affected by the rapid advances taking place in biotechnology and are faced with the need to train staff in this subject. O n e effective way to provide this training is by attendance at continuing-education courses. However, an alternative or parallel approach is through the use of 'open-learning' textbooks with, if possible, tutorial support from academic institutions. These two books are part of an extensive B I O T O L series covering a wide range ofbiotechnological topics. With two other books in the series, entitled Bioprocess
Technology: Modelling and Transport Phenomena (reviewed in TIBTECH 11, 109, 1992) and Product Recovery in Bioprocess Technology, they form a group o f four textbooks designed to enable readers to 'develop engineering knowledge and expertise essential to the design and operation ofbioprocesses'. W i t h the exception o f the Introduction in Bioreactor Design and Product Yield, all the chapters in both books have been written by authors from Dutch industry or academic institutions. The first of the two books
culture 'steady-state conditions are often assumed when the variations are less than about + / - 30%' and in a fed-batch reaction 'it is assumed that the concentration ofnuttients added is so high that volume changes are negligible'. 1 did find the use o f ' C S T R ' to mean 'conventional stirred-tank reactor' rather unconventional. In addition, some chapters are rather unbalanced in their contents. For instance, 50 pages on immobilized biocatalyst kinetics seems out o f proportion, and I can see little justification for the inclusion of sterilization by ethylene oxide and [3-propiolactone in a basic textbook. I make these criticisms because the readers o f these books may not have the experience to make their own judgements o f the content.
Some diagrams give a misleading impression of the relative dimensions of agitators and bioreactors, but otherwise the chapters are well illustrated. The books endeavour to be selfcontained with a limited number of references. In some chapters these do not seem to be well chosen, sometimes referring to PhD theses and conference proceedings. Despite the criticisms detailed above, the overall quality of both books is good. The mathematical treatments are presented in a clear manner with which the nonengineer should have little difficulty. One o f the real strengths o f the books is the inclusion o f selfassessment questions and answers, which allow the reader to check, at intervals, their understanding o f preceding sections. I would certainly recommend these books to anyone wishing to learn about the basic principles of biochemical engineering as they relate to bioreactors. The material contained within them will allow the reader to develop their knowledge further by informed discussions with biochemical engineers in industry and universities. Malcolm D. Lilly Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, UK WC1E 7JE.
Bioreactors and more bioreactors Basic Bioreactor Desigm
by K. Van't Riet andd. Tramper, Marcel Dekker, 1991. US$150.00 (472 pages) ISBN 0 8247 8446 4
(Bioreactor Design and Product Yield) has three chapters on mass transfer and other characteristics o f fermenters. The remainder o f the book is devoted to four chapters on immobilized biocatalysts and a single chapter on sterilization. The second b o o k (Operational Modes of Bioreactors) contains two excellent chapters on scale up and scale down, followed by five chapters on the different types o f reactors, and a final chapter introducing the reader to process control. The general standard is high, but occasional lapses occur. Examples are the statements that in continuous
TIBTECHJUNE1993(VOL11)
Bioreactors in Biotechnology: A Practical Approach
edited by A..J. Scragg, Ellis Harwood, 1991. UK£59.00 (330 pages) ISBN 0 13 085143 4
These two books are clearly aimed at similar aspects ofbiotechnology, namely the bioreactor. However, Basic Bioreactor Design concentrates on bioreactor performance, and attempts, quite successfully, to integrate biological and processengineering considerations; whilst Bioreactors in Biotechnology considers
additional, associated aspects, such as instrumentation and control, and sterilization. Herein lies the key to the major difference between the two books. Basic BioreactorDesign is probably the most advanced, yet readable and useful, b o o k on this topic, to date. The word 'Basic' seems, to
book reviews Teach yourself bioreactors Bioreactor Design and Product Yield
BIOTOL Series, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992. UK£19.95 (x + 275pages) ISBN 0 7506 1509 5 Operational Modes o f Bioreactors
BIOTOL Series, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992. UK£19.95 (x + 282 pages) ISBN 0 7506 1508 7 Many industries are being affected by the rapid advances taking place in biotechnology and are faced with the need to train staff in this subject. O n e effective way to provide this training is by attendance at continuing-education courses. However, an alternative or parallel approach is through the use of 'open-learning' textbooks with, if possible, tutorial support from academic institutions. These two books are part of an extensive B I O T O L series covering a wide range ofbiotechnological topics. With two other books in the series, entitled Bioprocess
Technology: Modelling and Transport Phenomena (reviewed in TIBTECH 11, 109, 1992) and Product Recovery in Bioprocess Technology, they form a group o f four textbooks designed to enable readers to 'develop engineering knowledge and expertise essential to the design and operation ofbioprocesses'. W i t h the exception o f the Introduction in Bioreactor Design and Product Yield, all the chapters in both books have been written by authors from Dutch industry or academic institutions. The first of the two books
culture 'steady-state conditions are often assumed when the variations are less than about + / - 30%' and in a fed-batch reaction 'it is assumed that the concentration ofnuttients added is so high that volume changes are negligible'. 1 did find the use o f ' C S T R ' to mean 'conventional stirred-tank reactor' rather unconventional. In addition, some chapters are rather unbalanced in their contents. For instance, 50 pages on immobilized biocatalyst kinetics seems out o f proportion, and I can see little justification for the inclusion of sterilization by ethylene oxide and [3-propiolactone in a basic textbook. I make these criticisms because the readers o f these books may not have the experience to make their own judgements o f the content.
Some diagrams give a misleading impression of the relative dimensions of agitators and bioreactors, but otherwise the chapters are well illustrated. The books endeavour to be selfcontained with a limited number of references. In some chapters these do not seem to be well chosen, sometimes referring to PhD theses and conference proceedings. Despite the criticisms detailed above, the overall quality of both books is good. The mathematical treatments are presented in a clear manner with which the nonengineer should have little difficulty. One o f the real strengths o f the books is the inclusion o f selfassessment questions and answers, which allow the reader to check, at intervals, their understanding o f preceding sections. I would certainly recommend these books to anyone wishing to learn about the basic principles of biochemical engineering as they relate to bioreactors. The material contained within them will allow the reader to develop their knowledge further by informed discussions with biochemical engineers in industry and universities. Malcolm D. Lilly Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, UK WC1E 7JE.
Bioreactors and more bioreactors Basic Bioreactor Desigm
by K. Van't Riet andd. Tramper, Marcel Dekker, 1991. US$150.00 (472 pages) ISBN 0 8247 8446 4
(Bioreactor Design and Product Yield) has three chapters on mass transfer and other characteristics o f fermenters. The remainder o f the book is devoted to four chapters on immobilized biocatalysts and a single chapter on sterilization. The second b o o k (Operational Modes of Bioreactors) contains two excellent chapters on scale up and scale down, followed by five chapters on the different types o f reactors, and a final chapter introducing the reader to process control. The general standard is high, but occasional lapses occur. Examples are the statements that in continuous
TIBTECHJUNE1993(VOL11)
Bioreactors in Biotechnology: A Practical Approach
edited by A..J. Scragg, Ellis Harwood, 1991. UK£59.00 (330 pages) ISBN 0 13 085143 4
These two books are clearly aimed at similar aspects ofbiotechnology, namely the bioreactor. However, Basic Bioreactor Design concentrates on bioreactor performance, and attempts, quite successfully, to integrate biological and processengineering considerations; whilst Bioreactors in Biotechnology considers
additional, associated aspects, such as instrumentation and control, and sterilization. Herein lies the key to the major difference between the two books. Basic BioreactorDesign is probably the most advanced, yet readable and useful, b o o k on this topic, to date. The word 'Basic' seems, to