Reference no: EM133091206

CHT223 Biocatalysis - Industrial Applications of Biocatalysis

1. List the principal types of reaction that can be catalysed by enzymes and/or whole cell systems on the industrial scale.
2. Show what the advantages are over traditional homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and also what the problems/limitations are.
3. Have knowledge of the cofactors needed by isolated enzymes and how (and why) they are recycled.
4. Describe the chemical mechanisms catalysed by the main types of enzyme used in industry.
5. Describe the basic types of reactor used in industry for biocatalytic processes.
6. Describe basic enzyme kinetics in terms of the Michaelis-Menten equation and understand the problems of substrate and product inhibition.

Acting(Performance in this area will enable students to achieve more than a basic pass):
1. Apply chemical mechanisms in normal organic reactions to those used by enzymes.
2. Critically evaluate the pros and cons of using traditional organic chemistry versus biocatalysis for a large-scale process
3. Understand that physical behaviour (shape, structure, allosterism...) is crucial in enzymatic systems as well as chemical reactivity.
4. Appreciate 3D structure of molecules/macromolecules and stereochemistry.

Being(Performance in this area will enable students to achieve more than a basic pass):
1. Recognise possibilities for the use of enzymes (or whole cell biocatalysts) in industrial synthetic problems.
2. Recognise the potential benefits of biocatalysis in terms of economy of reaction steps, mild conditions and generally clean processes.
3. Critically analyse synthetic routes and identify wasteful and/or inefficient steps.
4. Describe industrial reactor types suitable for a specific reaction.