M2 European Master in Biological and Chemical Engineering for a Sustainable Bioeconomy

Jean-Luc Cacas, Florian Pion, Loïc Rajjou, Séverine Layec, Bertrand Gakière, Adnane Boualem, Erwan Poupon, Muriel Viaud, Loïc Lepiniec, Xavier Cachet, Marc Litaudon, external teachers.

Students will be taught by experts in the field (through a conference cycle): (i) the basics of primary and specialized metabolism and its regulation, (ii) methodologies dedicated to explore, identify, purify, characterize and screen metabolites and determine their biological activity, and (iii) manipulation of metabolic pathways via genetic-dependent and -independent strategies. This will provide the required knowledge for students to conceive and develop, with the help of teachers, an innovative project that deals with a specific metabolite or specific family of metabolites. In this project evaluated by the pedagogical team, biotechnological applications/procedures will be emphasized. To illustrate lectures/projects, “omics” facilities or companies will also be visited.

Assessment is based on oral evaluation of student groups by a jury composed of teachers and other students. Groups of students will present their work in an innovation context.

This course aims at learning students how
•exploring specialized metabolite diversity (multi-omics),
•understanding primary and secondary metabolism,
•manipulating secondary metabolism (environment and genetics),
•purifying and characterizing metabolites,
•screening of novel molecules and evaluation of their biological activity .

The course proposes to explore and compare specialized metabolite diversity in bacteria, fungi and plants.

Interest in natural substances and their applications.

To be defined.

Novembre.

INRA : Caroline Penicaud University of Avignon : Sylvie Fabiano Tixier University of Nantes : Luc Marchal, Estelle Morin Coualier.

Lectures on eco-design, innovative separation technologies, eco-extraction…, performed by researchers in the field and professional stakeholders. For mature processes, focus will be placed on evolutions dealing with process control for a better adaptation of technology to resources specificity (e.g. microalgae biomass), or to obtain new functionalities. For more recent innovations, the challenges to tackle in term of eco-design and reduction of environmental impacts, through solvent use reduction and energy saving, will be presented. Small group or individual Projects, as a tutored work on a case study of an innovative separation challenge.

Students are assessed through collective (maximum of 3 students) work (10 pages report) and oral presentation (30 minutes) on a project dealing with extraction strategies and innovations.

Separation processes are key operations in bio-industries, either for raw materials treatments or for downstream operations (concentration, extraction, cracking, purification). The recovery of molecules of interest from biomass and from biotechnological transformations is a major issue, either from economical and environmental point of view. Many evolutions and innovations are currently proposed in this area, in order to reduce environmental impact and increase global performances.
This course will aim at describing the main principles and scopes of separation and extraction processes, for different technological maturity stages, from emergent to mature technologies. The focus will be placed on sustainability criteria of these processes, to raise students’ awareness of eco-design challenges to tackle in this field.

Backgroung in at least one discipline related to biology.

Janvier - Février.

Stéphanie Baumberger, Jean-Luc Cacas, Florian Pion, Sandra Domenek, Valérie Camel, IJPB researchers, members of companies involved in biobased industries (insect biorefinery, cosmetics, chemical industry).

This course comprises the following lectures and work: - presentation and analysis of the green chemistry principles applied to the conversion of plant biomass, taking into account regulation and toxicology (6 h), - functionality and exploitation of natural molecular assemblies such as lipid bodies and plant cell-wall (6 h), - complementarity between plant biotechnologies and industrial biotechnologies illustrated through examples relative to chemical intermediates, polymers, and cosmetic ingredients (6 h), - insect biorefinery (3 h) - practical lab work n groups (21 h) combining fractionation, chemical conversion, biocatalysis and characterization of intermediate bioproducts, - preparation and presentation of an oral communication on the practical work (6 h).

Assessment is performed through oral evaluation of the students groups by a jury composed of teachers and IJPB researchers. Students present their practical work and propose a critical analysis of the experimental strategy, with respect to green chemistry principles.

The global development of green chemistry stimulates the use of plant biomass for the production of molecules and materials of industrial interest. Biotechnologies constitute one of the major innovation levers in the sector of bio-based industry, both for the optimization of biomass quality and for the design of performant bioconversion tools.
In this context, the aims of this course are
•To introduce the different declinations of the green chemistry principles (use of renewable carbon and sustainable chemical synthesis)
•To show how they can be applied to the transformation of plant biomass by combining chemistry with different biotechnological routes (plant-, microbial- and animal-based biotechs)
•To provide practical examples of green chemistry approach and stimulate their critical analysis.

Background in biotechnologies and/or green chemistry.

Anastas, PT, Warner JC (1998). Green chemistry: theory and practice. New York, Oxford University Press, By permission of Oxford University Press. Scherrman MC, Augé J (2016). Chimie verte – Concepts et applications. Paris, EDP Sciences CNRS Edition, Savoirs actuels.

Janvier - Février.

To be confirmed.

The course is built-up on 2x1.5h lectures by bioeconomy experts from Neoma and European partner institutions and companies.

1. Definition and origins of the bioeconomy and the circular economy 2. Bioeconomy firms and strategies: innovation, circular economy and green growth 3. The bioeconomy, the circular economy and the environment 4. Measuring the bioeconomy and the circular economy 5. Innovation: definition, its main sources, and sustainability 6. Innovation networks in the bioeconomy and the circular economy 7. Capturing value in the bioeconomy and the circular economy 8. Entrepreneurship: building an innovative organization 9. Environmental auditing and certification 10. Environmental accounting systems 11. Integrating environmental accounting systems 12. Characteristics of marketing for agri-food products: concurrency and market behaviour. 13. Innovation marketing, strategic business dimensions and articulation between research and its commercial exploitation 14. Introduction to Marketing Strategies.

The aim of this course is to give students analytical tools in economics and management of the transition to a bioeconomy. It involves courses in innovation economics and management, entrepreneurship, ecological and environmental economics and sustainability management.
This course entails four modules:

1) Economics of transition to sustainability: this module aims to answer the following questions:
- What are the challenges of a new economy based on the use of biomass?
- What are the limits of the bioeconomy?
- What strategies do different stakeholders have?
- What sustainability issues does the bioeconomy have?

2) Innovation and entrepreneurship: this module aims to give the students the main concepts required to understand innovation strategies and entrepreneurship. The course will focus on the bioeconomy and the circular economy.

3) Environmental accounting and management: this module aims to answer the following questions:
-What is at stake in corporate social responsibility?
-What are the main tools available to develop a sustainability strategy?
-What issues are involved in the integration of sustainability into accounting?

4) Marketing: this module aims to understand the dynamics and foundations of the Marketing for Agricultural and Food (agri-food) Products (to analyse/diagnose; to develop/construct; to impement/execute).

None.

OECD, 2017. Biorefineries Models and Policy (No. DSTI/STP/BNCT(2016)16/FINAL). OECD. Finlay, M.R., 2003. Old Efforts at New Uses: A Brief History of Chemurgy and the American Search for Biobased Materials. Journal of Industrial Ecology 7, 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1162/108819803323059389 Vivien, F.-D., Nieddu, M., Befort, N., Debref, R., Giampietro, M., 2019. The Hijacking of the Bioeconomy. Ecological Economics 159, 189–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.01.027

To be completed.

Décembre.

Jean-Luc Cacas, Lionel Gissot, Sabine D’Andrea.

This teaching unit is about performing transient expression of transgene in plants and understanding the ins and outs of one such technology. It is based on (i) molecular biology manipulation (cloning the gene of interest and transferring the construct into agrobacteria), (ii) tobacco plant transformation using agrobacteria and (iii) phenotype analyses. Practical courses are majority during the teaching process (around 30h out of the 45h-lasting module). Students attending this unit will learn a scientific approach that can be useful for their future career either in the academic research world or in a broader biotechnological (R&D) context.

Students are evaluated at the end of the teaching unit by means of oral presentations. Each pair of student gives a talk on its own results/interpretations, putting forward the case for potential biotechnological applications.

This course aims at making students acquire basic knowledge of transgenesis in plants and get into the process of phenoytpe interpretation. The proposed example deals with lipid metabolism. Therefore, it is assumed that students will also learn a bit about this theoretical aspect, but also about basics of lipid extraction, purification and dosage.

Background in at least one discipline related to biology.

To be defined.

Octobre.

Matthieu Jules (AgroParisTech, Micalis), Vincent Fromion (INRA, MaIAGE), Anne Goelzer (INRA, MaIAGE), Laurent Tournier (INRA, MaIAGE), Vincent Sauveplane (AgroParisTech, Micalis).

•Practical works in metabolic engineering in silico •Wet lab project (gene cloning, gene KO, modifying gene expression)

Students will be evaluated based on their involvement (activity) in practical courses. In addition, they will write a technical report on their project, and will be evaluated on that as well.

Synthetic Biology (Metabolic engineering, strain design optimisation, etc.) is a discipline that sprung up at the interface of chemical engineering, biotechnology, biochemistry, classical genetics and modelling. In particular, the design of a cell factory involves global analysis of the production organism (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) coupled to the development of a dedicated, mathematical model of the whole cell in order to define in silico the optimization strategy and the required modification of the strain to be implemented through the means of genetic manipulations.
In this course, we will seek to practically explore this “pipeline”. Students will be expected to perform an in silico optimization of a bacterial cell factory for production of a given target metabolite. The model predictions (genes to inactivate or overexpress) will guide the genetic manipulation that will be performed in wet lab. These will include clean knock-outs and expression modulation via synthetic promoters. Finally, the success of the engineering approach will be validated by quantifying the produced metabolite in batch cultures.

Background in at least one discipline related to biology.

Several optional modules from Master 1 BS and BIP are highly recommended: •Systems Biology (M1) •Synthetic Biology (UE13).

Recent and old scientific papers to explain the basics and scientific advances in system biology and synthetic biology. Two general references on this approach : Systems Biology [Textbook], E. Klipp et al, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Metabolic engineering in the post genomic era, ed. B.N. Kholodenko, H.V. Westerhoff, Taylor & Francis, 2004.

Octobre.

EVRY - PALAISEAU

Sandra Domenek (AgroParisTech), Sandrine Bouquillon (URCA), Aurore Richel (ULiège), X (Aalto), Y (TalTech) + teaching staff depending on the topic of the project.

The course consists in: •Tutored evaluation of technical/scientific solutions and development of an experimental strategy to model products/processes •Experimental work at the laboratory scale •Personal work and team meetings on the technical-economic evaluation of the model product/process and environmental evaluation

All along the semester, the students will have to interact at distance or on the same site with the other students of their Green line project group (depending on their respective Bioceb track) and achieve progress reporting to their supervisors by visioconference. They will have access to the resources (documentation, expertise, facilities...) available at the University where they perform their semester.

The student will provide a final Green line project report by groups that will be assessed by a panel of teachers and external participants (associated partners).

This project course aims at
•Deepen scientific knowledge in biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology, process engineering applied to the valorisation of biomass resources in bioindustries
•Propose sustainable innovative solutions integrating technological, economic, social and environmental dimensions
•Define an experimental project for the elaboration of a model product / prototype developed in a given green line project
•Propose scale-up strategies

Biomass constitutes a source of molecules, macromolecules and supramolecular assemblies which can be used in numerous applications of virtually every industrial domain, such as food and cosmetics industry, chemicals, materials and textile industries, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine. For that, strategies of deconstruction of complex biological tissues need to be employed, using mechanical, chemical, enzymatic (biotechnological) methods. White biotechnology or green chemistry can be employed to re-assemble and/or transform, convert, produce biobased building blocks to substances or assemblies of designed function, such as polymers, fragrances, pharmaceuticals, chemicals.
The green line projects concern real case applications in this domain.

During the third semester of the green line project, the most promising project strategies will be evaluated by the project group and an in-depth scientific/technical study will be carried out on one of them. A model product/concept will be elaborated.

For the students of the Bioceb EMJMD programme course, Green line project -1st and -2nd stage courses are mandatory.

Septembre - Octobre - Novembre - Décembre - Janvier - Février.

Aurore Richel + teaching staff to be precised.

This course is centered on the achievement of a group work in the laboratory and relies on the following steps: 1- Definition of the research project 2- Up-to-date bibliographic search (state of the art) 3- Preparation of the working strategy and main tasks (oral presentation in English) 4- Achievement of the project in the laboratory 5- Drafting of a synthetic report on the project and the results

Assessment through personal report presented in English at the end of the lessons (oral evaluation 100%). The presence in the laboratory is mandatory.

The course is centered on the thorough study of one or several natural products included in a biological matrix. The main objective of this course is to increase knowledge in organic analysis (extraction processes, purification and identification of natural molecules), in chromatographic and spectroscopic methods.

None.

None.

Octobre.

Université de Liège, Gembloux (Belgique)

BECKERS Yves, CLAESSENS Hugues, COLINET Gilles, DEGRÉ Aurore, SINDIC Marianne.

This course relies on two learning modes (selected by the student at the beginning of the activity): either a participation in a workshop organised within ULiege - Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (and designed to work on skills such as communication, leadership, entrepreneurship, group management, etc.) or the realization of a personal or group project, i.e. learning by doing. In this case, a jury must determine whether the project strengthens the skills worked on in the workshops.

Assessment is based on personal work (100%).

The "skills portfolio" is a pedagogical device designed to enable students to refine the construction of their psycho-social skills (mainly communication, leadership, entrepreneurship, group management ,..) exclusively) that they must acquire in the context of their professional project.

None.

None.

Septembre - Octobre - Novembre - Décembre - Janvier - Février.

Université de Liège, Gembloux (Belgique)

DELVIGNE Frank, FICKERS Patrick, JACQUES Philippe, ONGENA Marc.

The course comprises mainly practical work (80%) and lectures (20%).

The assessment is performed based on personal report and oral examination.

At the end of this multidisciplinary course, students will be able to develop the different aspects of the development, implementation, optimization and control of a production process for a compound of interest in bioreactor.
The aim is to approach in a practical way the technologies for the production of compounds of biotechnological interest (biomass, proteins, metabolites) developed in the agri-food and bio-pharmaceutical industries. The course will detail different examples of biotechnological applications based on the use of microorganisms (yeasts, bacteria).

None.

Articles from the scientific literature.

Octobre - Novembre - Décembre.

Université de Liège, Gembloux (Belgique)

Aurore RICHEL + teaching staff to be defined.

This course will underline the main concepts (from a chemical point of view) for energy production using biomass including biogas (methane) production, thermochemical approaches (gasification, pyrolysis, etc.) with upgrade options (ie. Fischer Tropsch, etc.), biofuels production including biodiesel, bioethanol, kerosene, alternative fuels, etc. Production of hydrogen and energy vectors from biomass.

Assessment is based on personal work (report) at 100%.

This course, based on the concept of PBL (problem-based learning) is aiming at studying (from a theoretical point of view associated to the execution of a personal project in the lab) the main technologies for energy production from renewable resources with a focus on the chemical options.

None.

Articles from the scientific literature.

Octobre.

Université de Liège, Gembloux (Belgique)

Aurore RICHEL.

In this course, students will be able to design a complete pathway for the upgrade of an organic (vegetal) material into a specific application by selecting and optimizing the transformation paths. The targeted molecules are conventional biopolymers (starch, cellulose, hemicelluloses, proteins, lignins, etc.) or primary metabolites. For security reasons, access to the laboratory is authorized only for Students with a lab coat, their safety glasses and in order of registration. Glasses should be worn when handling.

Assessment is performed based on personal work (report) – 100% Note: the presence during the practical session is mandatory.

The course aims to address the application of biological chemistry and related industrial processes through group-based projects (in Problem-Based Learning).

None.

Papers in International Journals; bibliography available at the library of the Biomass and Green Technologies Lab (ULIEGE).

Septembre.

Université de Liège, Gembloux (Belgique)

Mark Hughes, Hannu Viitanen.

The course is held at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystem. It comprises lectures (30h), practical work (40h), personal work (50h) and other (30h). Assessment is performed based on examination and report.

The aim of this course it to introduce students to the structure of wood and its material properties as well as some of the important wood-based products and how they are manufactured. There is emphasis on the properties and products of wood relevant to applications in the built environment. After the course the student:
•understands the basics of wood properties and behaviour, especially with respect to use in the built environment, and how this can be managed
•knows about the range of wood products commercially available, or that are under development
•appreciates how the most common wood products are manufactured and how they can be used

The course addresses the following topics: tree growth and ecology; wood species; wood anatomy; wood ultrastructure; moisture and wood; short-term and long-term mechanical properties; wood degradation; acoustic and thermal behaviour; wood products; wood product manufacturing.

None.

J.M. Dinwoodie (2000), “Timber: Its nature and behaviour”, CRC Press; 2 edition.

Septembre - Octobre - Novembre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Mark Hughes; Sedigheh Borandeh; Sami Lipponen.

The course is held at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems of Aalto University. It comprises 14h of lectures and 81h of project work (including presentation). Personal work (self study for exam) represents 40h.

Assessment is performed based on examination, project work and presentation.

The aim of this module is for students to be able to:
•Appreciate the potential of polymers in composite technology
•Understand the role of reinforcement, matrix and interface
•Appreciate reinforcement processes in short- and long-fibre reinforced composites
•Understand the influence of fibre architecture on composite properties
•Know how micromechanical models can be used to predict selected composite properties
•Evaluate the compatibility between polymer and reinforcement/filler systems and is familiar with the main methods of controlling compatibility
•Know how thermosetting and thermoplastic polymer composites can be processed into various products
•Able to conducts a literature study and present the study orally

The lecture addresses the following topics: fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites (FRP); reinforcement, matrix and interface; principles of load sharing; stress transfer mechanisms; fibre (reinforcement architecture); thermoset and thermoplastic polymer composites processing; polymers blends; interfaces; applications for FRPs.

•D. Hull and T. W. Clyne. “An Introduction to Composite Materials” (Cambridge Solid State Science Series) •M.R. Piggott. “Load bearing fibre composites” (Pergamon).

Septembre - Octobre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Tapani Vuorinen, professor; Lina Solala, course assistants.

Lectures on living functions, chemical composition and anatomical structure of plants, chemical, biochemical and thermochemical fractionation methods of plant biomass, material and chemical products from plant biomass. Case presentations from bioproduct industry. Literature reviews on specific biomass crops and their use, including sustainability aspects. Laboratory works on chemical analyses and microscopy of plants.

Assessment through written report on literature assignment, seminar presentation, working in laboratory, laboratory work report.

The course provides a broad view on the significance of global biomass resources, chemical composition and anatomical structure of plants, fractionation of biomass into its main components and their conversion into various products.

None.

None.

Septembre - Octobre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Tapani Vuorinen, Iina Solala, course assistants.

Lectures on acid-base catalysed degradation and oxidation reactions of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin during the most relevant chemical fractionation processes of plant biomass. Relationships between the chemical structure and reactivity. Description of reaction rates based on the reaction mechanisms. Laboratory works that deepen the understanding on selected reactions and exemplify the use of analytical techniques in monitoring the reactions.

Assessment based on learning diary, learning reflection discussion, working in laboratory, and laboratory work reports.

The course provides understanding on the structure of the main components of lignocellulose and their reactions under conditions that are relevant for chemical fractionation and conversion of biomass in industrial scales.

Plant biomass recommended.

None.

Novembre - Décembre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Eero Hiltunen.

The course is held at the School of Chemical Engineering of Aalto University. It comprises lectures (24h) and practical work (60h). Personal work represents 50h.

Assessment is performed based on exercises (40%) and exam (60%).

The aim of this course is to give students an undertsanding of the production, structure, characterization and use of cellulosic fibers.
The emphasis is on natural fibers derived from wood and their use in paper and board products. However, regenerated fibers, carbon fibers and emerging applications are covered to some extent. Laboratory exercises concentrate on fiber characterization and identification. topics include: fiber isolation from wood, fiber morphology, fiber/water interactions, fiber reactivity, paper physics, regenerated fiber production and use, emerging fiber applications.

Septembre - Octobre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Prof. Eero Kontturi, Prof. Michael Hummel, hand-picked PhD students and postdocs supervising over laboratory works.

The course is held at the School of Chemical Engineering of Aalto University. It comprises lectures (24h) and a majority of pratical (70h) and personal (40h) work.

Assessment is performed based on: Oral examination (50%) Report on the laboratory work (50%).

The aim of this course is to acquaint the student with plant-based fibres and nanofibres: structure, physical and chemical behavior as well as applications.
It addresses the following topics: isolation of wood and non-wood fibres from the plant material; cell wall structure of lignocellulosic fibres; chemical structure and most common chemical reactions of cell wall components; structure-property relationships of lignocellulosic fibres; sorption behaviour and effect on properties; fibre mechanics and modelling; defects in fibres and their effect on properties; dissolution of cellulose and manufacture of regenerated cellulose; structure and properties of regenerated cellulose; nanocellulose – isolation, characteristics and applications.

Septembre - Octobre - Novembre.

Aalto University (Finlande)

Representatives for the Bioceb partner Universities (Aalto, Liège, Reims Champagne-Ardenne, TalTech).

The students achieve a research and innovation internship in a public or private institution (research laboratory, company, interprofessional organism, ...) to achieve their MSc thesis. They are supervised for this thesis by a teacher of the University where they spent their 3rd semester (1st M2 semester). They are assessed through their MSc thesis report and presentation.

The objective of the MSc thesis course is to provide students with a practical training in a professional environment, allowing them to develop some scientific, technical and management skills. Moreover, it aims at giving the opportunity of an international and intercultural experience in regions of the world with different bioeconomy systems than the Bioceb partners region.

Students of the Bioceb EMJMD programme course have to perform their training in a country allowing them to keep with the mobility rules.

Février - Mars - Avril - Mai - Juin - Juillet.