Academic staff

Alessandra Astegno, Federico Battista, Daniela Cecconi, Giovanna Felis, Daniele Guardavaccaro, Silvia Lampis, Barbara Molesini, Nicola Mori, Tiziana Pandolfini, Marzia Rossato, Barbara Simonato, Claudio Zaccone, Anita Zamboni, Sara Zenoni, Gianni Zoccatelli

Credits

50

Language

English

Class attendance

Free Choice

Location

VERONA

Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

Mass and energy balances provide very powerful tools in engineering and bio-engineering analysis. Many complex situations are simplified by looking at the movement of mass and energetic fluxes, relating what comes out to what goes in.
Questions such as: what is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the fermenter off-gas? What fraction of substrate is not converted into products? how much oxygen is needed for a fermentation to proceed? How much energy is necessary to set-up the reactor at its operative temperature? Can be answered using mass and energy balances.
This short course explains how the law conservations of mass and energy are applied to simple biological processes with and without chemical reactions.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Basic knowledge of chemistry and thermodynamics

Program

Definition of system and process

2. Definition of Steady State and equilibrium

3. Law of conservation of mass

4. Types of materials balances

5. General mass balance equation

6. Procedure for mass balance calculations

7. Numerical examples on mass balance

8. Basic energy concepts

9. General energy balance equation

10. Focus on enthalpy calculation in nonreactive and reactive processes

11. Numerical examples on simple energy balances

Bibliography

When and where

The course will be in physical presence and will include both theoretical lessons and the resolution of numerical exercises

Learning assessment procedures

The solving of a mass and energetic balance is required to pass the exam

Assessment

The correct setting-up of the mass and energy balance of a biological process will be evaluated in order to pass the exam