Bioparticle Process

About us

The Technical Group of Bioparticle Process was established in 2020 as a project-type technical group. Biological substances (e.g. microorganisms and viruses) are involved in a wide range of fields from the production process to daily life. The size of biological substances is similar with the size that are focused and operated by powder technology. This means that an approach from the perspective of fine particle engineering, which regards biological substances as “bioparticles”, is effective for addressing some problems (e.g. infectious diseases, food contamination) and utilization (e.g. wastewater treatment). This group aims to contribute to industrial engineering by solving many issues regarding bioparticles based on fine particle technology.

 Current level of technology, trend and activities in future

In pharmaceutical and food manufacturing plants, sterilization and cleaning with high-pressure, high-temperature steam and caustic soda are performed to ensure safety and quality. However, due to the enormous processing costs, technological innovation and cost reduction are required.

Biofilm formed on the water treatment membrane is the main cause of contamination, resulting in increased cleaning and replacement costs. Although several techniques for suppressing microbial adhesion have been proposed, it is still difficult to completely suppress them at present. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop innovative technology to solve this issue.

Microbial metabolites can cause the formation of bubbles and increase the solution viscosity, which makes it difficult for homogeneous mixing in the bioreactor.

Bioparticles can be characterized using conventional methods, however, the effects of biomolecules on the cell surface must be considered.

Biofilms with microbial growth are commonly used in wastewater treatment processes. Maintaining a high concentration of microorganisms in the bioreactor is effective for improving the efficiency of the biological treatment process. The carriers for immobilizing microorganisms have been developed, however, its control depends on the unknown microorganism properties.

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