SAMPLE POPOSAL

Chemical Engineering 4905

The following sample proposal is not intended to represent the scope and depth of
the projects proposed by or assigned to students. It is an edited and slightly altered
student proposal and may contain some incorrect statements and formatting, and may
describe questionable experimental procedures. The report is intended to illustrate only
the organization and elements of an acceptable proposal as discussed in class, in the
grading rubric, and in the lab handbook. This document focuses primarily on issues
specific to proposals. For greater detail about issues applicable to technical writing in
general, see the sample formal report in the Projects Lab Handbook.
The comments in the margins of the proposal are intended to call the attention of
the student to required proposal content. A student's proposal should not contain such
comments in the margin.
The proposal should be bound in some kind of cover.

 
 Proposal for Continuous Cell Concentration Analysis System Comment [T1]: Title page.
Includes a concise and descriptive title.
This page is not labeled with a page number,
By and it should not be, but it is Page i.

Christopher Brau

Stephen R. M. Grobstein

James Johnson Comment [T2]: Proposal authors.

Chemical Engineering Projects Laboratory

Professor Kevin Whitty Comment [T3]: Recipient.

Assigned: February 9, 2010

Due: March 5, 2010

Submitted: March 5, 2010 Comment [T4]: Relative dates.

Comment [T5]: This proposal should include

the author’s signatures at the bottom. For
example:

________ ________
John Doe Jane Doe

Centered and with handwritten signatures

above the line.

 
 Table of Contents Comment [T6]: Lists the accurate section
number, title and page number of each major
No. Title Page section of the proposal.
Executive Summary iii
This is Page ii and is labeled as such.
I. Technical Background 1
II. Objectives 5
III. Statement of Work 6
IV. Capabilities 13
V. Equipment and Facilities 14
VI. Anticipated Benefits 18
VII. Anticipated Safety and Environmental Impact 18
Nomenclature 19
References 20

List of Appendices Comment [T7]: It would be best to instead

include the appendices in the Table of
No. Title Page Contents, particularly when there is only one.
A MSDS 21

List of Tables Comment [T8]: Lists the accurate table

number, title and page number of each table.
No. Title Page Make sure the table title is the same in this table
1. Estimated Project Time Table 9 as it is in the body of the text.
2. Budget Calculation 12

List of Figures Comment [T9]: Lists the accurate figure

number, title and page number of each figure.
No. Title Page Make sure the figure title is the same in this
1. Bacterial Growth Phases 3 table as it is in the body of the text.
2. BioFlo 110 Modular Benchtop Fermentor 14
3. NucleoCounter Y-C 100 Cell Counter 15
4. Bausch & Lomb Spectronic 21 Continuous Read UV/VIS 16
5. Flow-Through Cell 16
6. P.E. Lambda 35 UV/VIS spectrophotometer 17
7. Synergy-HT Bio-Tek, Microplate Reader 17

ii 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Comment [T10]: Throughout the document
the font should be 12 pt, except for captions,
text within figures, and footnotes which may be
The bioreactor unit at the University of Utah currently has no sensory equipment to indicate cell as low as 9pt. Single spacing should be used.
concentration. The result of this is that one must guess when the best time is to take samples. Comment [T11]: Executive Summary.
Additionally, it must be assumed that refrigerated storage will slow down activity enough to be Meant to concisely summarize the proposal.
inconsequential to analysis results when samples cannot be immediately processed. Manually The summary should fit to one page.

taking more samples and processing them immediately can generate better data and get closer to
finding cell growth transition phases. However, this comes with an increased cost of employee
time and, in the case of the cell counter, significant reagent material costs. Comment [T12]: Briefly explain the
problem(s) to be solved by the proposed work.
By building UV/VIS spectroscopy profiles of yeast cells and its media to generate absorbance vs.
concentration curves at ideal wavelengths our team intends to run a flow through cell on a
continuous read UV/VIS spectrometer and translate this into real time cell concentration. This
should enhance reactor performance analysis by clearly indicating the growth phase of reaction,
and automatically collecting data to estimate cell growth kinetics. This can reduce the number of
samples needed as well as the time and material expenses required to collect and analyze them.
Ideally, this will pave the way to creating an automated, dedicated, real-time concentration
analysis instrument based on UV/VIS absorption. Comment [T13]: Explain the potential benefits
of the proposed project.
This project will be pursued in three phases. The first step is preliminary work to establish Comment [T14]: Briefly describes the
UV/VIS absorbance profiles of media, yeast cells, and active reaction culture. With this, methods to be used.

preferred wavelengths can be ear-marked and customized equations to relate composite

absorbance to cell concentration built. This will be accomplished using known concentrations of
target compounds analyzed by existing UV/VIS and fluorescing concentration analysis
equipment. The second part requires contrasting this gathered absorbance data with sample
comparison tests on the existing continuous read UV/VIS spectrometer. Using this comparison
data and performing subsequent test runs will allow tuning of the previously generated equations.
In the third step the accuracy of the real-time concentration analysis system will be quantitatively
benchmarked, and its ability to indicate primary shifts in bioreactor cell growth phases
(particularly lag to exponential and exponential to stationary) will be evaluated. The
concentration accuracy will be compared against that of the cell counter and other instruments.
Upon conclusion of this project the strengths and weaknesses of the real-time cell concentration
system will be documented; and suggestions will be made for design of an improved, custom-
built system headed by Professor Butterfield.

iii 
 
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND Comment [T15]: This is page 1. In total the 
proposal should be no more than 15 pages, single 
spaced, excluding tables of contents, nomenclature 
Every substance on this planet absorbs some wavelength of light. The chemical makeup of the and reference, executive summary and appendices. 
substance dictates which frequencies of light are absorbed and which are reflected. For the
Comment [T16]: This section functions as an
purpose of this project, UV/VIS spectrometry will be used to continuously measure the introduction to the topic at hand. Note that the
absorbance of a growing culture of microorganisms. This measured absorbance is related to first page of the Technical Background is Page
1 of the proposal and is numbers as such.
concentration by Beer’s Law described below:
Enough technical background should be given
Beer’s law relates the absorption of light to the properties of the material through which so that a non-expert reader will be able to
understand the engineering problems
light is traveling. The law states that there is a logarithmic dependence between the addressed by the proposal.
transmission, T, of the light through a substance and the product of the absorption
coefficient of the substance, α, and the distance the light travels through the material, l.
The absorption coefficient can, in turn, be written as a product of either a molar
absorptivity of the absorber, ε, and the concentration c of absorbing species in the
material, or an absorption cross section, σ, and the density N of absorbers.1 Comment [T17]: This quote is copied from
Wikipedia. It would be best to find a more
authoritative, less ephemeral source for a
For liquids, Beer’s Law is described by the following equation: professional proposal.

10 10 (1)

where and are the intensity of the incident light and the transmitted light, respectively. In
practice I/Io is given as a percentage referred to as percent transmittance. The other popular
choice of quantifying spectroscopy results is termed absorbance. Transmittance and absorbance
are related via the following equation:

(2)
where A is absorbance. Thus 100% transmittance equals an absorbance of zero and 10%
transmittance gives an absorbance of 1. In practice, most spectroscopy instruments start to lose
accuracy progressively as absorbance values increase past. Solving Beer’s law equation in terms
of absorbance shows why it is often the more popular choice of measurement in spectroscopy
due to eliminating the exponential factor with the resulting equation of:

(3)
Currently, no cell counting capabilities are present on the bioreactor. A sample must be taken
whenever the concentration is desired and run through a cell counter. During the extraction and
analyzing process the cells will continue to grow and multiply; thus increasing error associated
with the collected data. There are several solutions to this problem and they are as follows: Comment [T18]: Enough background is given
so that a non-expert reader will be able to
understand the importance of solving the
1. Place the samples in a refrigerator, which effectively ceases any growth. problem.
2. Add a small amount of toxin to the system that will terminate the growth of the cells in
Also, the authors explain why the proposed
the sample. approach is better than alternatives.
3. Install an instrument to analyze cell concentration continuously, eliminating any lag time
between sample extraction and analysis.

1 
 
The refrigerator solution is not effective at instantly stopping cell growth and any time spent out
of the refrigerator will result in a near instantaneous return to regular cell growth. The addition
of a toxin has been proven to be an effective inhibitor of cell growth but the chemical can
interfere with and reduce the accuracy of sample analysis. Additionally, the lab would have to
maintain a constant supply to allow students to use this method. The third and final solution is
the most complex; but it is also the most effective option. If enabled correctly it can display a
real-time graphical representation of how cells are growing inside the bio-reactor. This would
allow users to take samples at precise and crucial times during the different growth phases of the
cells.
Microorganisms have four main phases associated with their life cycle; lag, exponential,
stationary and death. The lag phase is the ramp up period where the cells are getting accustomed
to their environment. Next is the exponential phase where the cells rapidly grow and multiply.
During this phase, glucose and oxygen are consumed by the cells to reproduce. Oxygen
concentration dissolved in the bioreactor solution is maintained with a constant flow of air into
the bioreactor. However, the glucose concentration becomes a limiting factor. Cells will only
reproduce when there is a sufficient amount of nutrients (glucose) to present in the reactor.
After most of the glucose is depleted the cells enter a stationary phase. In this phase the net
growth rate is zero or the growth rate is equal to the death rate.2 This is the same phase where Comment [T19]: References are given. The
authors show they have adequately reviewed
specialty chemical production is possible. By limiting a primary nutrient after cells have grown the literature and found all approaches that
to a sufficient population, a cell culture is forced to pursue alternate chemical metabolic have been tried in the past to solve the
problem(s) addressed by the proposal.
pathways thus changing what they produce. The death phase, as the name implies, is where the
cells begin to die off and cease production of any substances. A graph showing the primary
growth phases of microorganisms over time is shown below:

Figure 1: Bacterial Growth Phases Comment [T20]: Figure title is below the
figure and matches the title in the Table of
Figures.
The growth rate of microbes is directly related to cell concentration and is characterized by
the net specific growth rate, defined as:

2 
 
 1
(4)

where X is cell mass concentration, t is time, and is net specific growth rate. Integrating
Equation (4) yields:

(5)

where X and are cell concentrations at time t, is the time in the lag phase. Equation (5)
gives us a value of cell concentration at any time (t).
Yield coefficients are needed to describe how cell concentration changes with substrate
concentration and can be defined as:
Δ
⁄ (6)
Δ
where Δ is the change in cell concentration over time and Δ is the change in substrate
concentration over the same time period.
Oxygen is usually added by sparging air through the bioreactor because it is needed to
facilitate growth in the yeast cells. The transfer of oxygen to the cells is most often limited by
the transfer of oxygen through the liquid film surrounding the gas bubbles. This rate of oxygen
transferred (OTR) from the gas to the liquid is described as:

∗ (7)

where is the oxygen transfer coefficient, a is the gas-liquid interfacial area, is the
volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient, C* is saturated dissolved oxygen concentration, is the
actual dissolved oxygen concentration in the broth. can be found by measuring the
dissolved oxygen concentration over time and graphing the data. This will produce a line whose
slope is the value for . Equation (7), along with oxygen uptake rate (OUR), can be used to
ensure oxygen is not the rate-limiting factor. The OUR is a measurement of the amount of
oxygen taken in by the cell broth over time and can be defined as:

(8)
⁄

where is the specific rate of oxygen consumption, ⁄ is the oxygen yield coefficient. The
OUR and OTR can be compared to determine if oxygen transfer is the rate-limiting step. If
, oxygen is the rate-limiting step.
The exponential phase of the life cycle is crucial as its kinetics directly determine how fast
the majority of the biomass is produced. It is often described by the Monod Equation as follows:

3 
 
 µ
µ (9)
1
where is the maximum specific growth rate when ≪ . is the saturation constant and
is equal to the concentration of the rate-limiting substrate when the specific rate of growth is
equal to one-half of the maximum and S is the substrate concentration. Equation (9) derives
from the premise that a single enzyme system with Michaelis-Menten kinetics responsible for the
uptake of S is a rate-limiting step, and therefore also governs growth rate of a cell culture.2
Equation (9) describes substrate-limited growth only when growth is slow and population density
is low.
OBJECTIVES Comment [T21]: Listed in this section are
clear, quantitative goals that the project, if
approved, must achieve in order to be
This project has a set of quantitative and qualitative goals. Listed in order of importance they considered successful.
are:
These goals must be feasible and supported by
the technical background.
1 The real time cell concentration analysis system will clearly indicate major growth phase
changes from lag to exponential growth, exponential growth to stationary, and as
secondary consideration “possibly” stationary to death phase accurate within 3 minutes of
phase change or better. This accuracy is to be verified by the characteristic cell growth
phase comparison of data generated by the system itself as well as cross compared to
plots generated by data analysis of samples drawn from the reactor near likely transition
points.

2 The real time cell concentration analysis system will determine exponential growth rate
accuracy within 10% of the YC-100 cell counter. This comparison will be based on Comment [T22]: Goals are specific and the
means of determining success are made clear.
samples taken in the leading portion of the exponential growth phase and analyzing them
using the YC-100’s ability to distinguish dead cells from total cells when determining
concentration.

3 The real time cell concentration analysis system will function reliably with no
requirement for a person to attend to it making software adjustments or physically alter
parts during operation.

4 The real time cell concentration analysis system will serve as a prototype furthering the
efforts to create an analysis instrument dedicated to this purpose from the ground up.

5 The real time cell concentration analysis system will process recorded absorbance data
into concentration automatically in a manner that is clear and easy to understand.

4 
 
STATEMENT OF WORK Comment [T23]: This section gives a clear,
step-by-step, written plan of work.
The work done to complete this project consists of three primary phases broken down into, pre- This example was created before CH EN 1705.
experimentation, configuring and tuning, and performance evaluation. Steps and procedure are Now, the statement should also indicate who
will be primarily responsible for which tasks. It is
broken down in the following alpha-numerically bulleted list followed by an estimated time should also be clear for which tasks CH EN
table. Options to systematically reduce experimental load as well as contingency plans are 1705 students will be responsible and the time
requirements on each.
outlined as well should unexpected delays and obstructions occur or if aspects of the experiment
fail outright.
1 Pre-Experimentation Comment [T24]: The plan of work contains
sufficient explanation and technical acumen so
A UV/VIS Absorbance Profiling that the reviewer would be convinced the plan is
a Material Preparation sound and feasible.
i. Create 500mL bioreactor media for a yeast culture following sterilizing
SOP and combining 10g/L yeast extract, 20g/L Bacto Peptone, and 40g/L
glucose with DI water and agitating until no solids are visible and
refrigerate.
ii. Create 500mL “raw yeast” solution by following sterilizing SOP and
combining 10g/L active yeast culture with DI water and agitating until an
even suspension exists with no visible clumps and refrigerate.
iii. Run a “standard” yeast cell culture bio reaction using 1.5 L of media as
defined in step 1.1Ai, and an inoculum of 2g/L yeast. Controller settings
should be 6.5pH, 120ccm air sparging, 500rpm agitation, and temperature
setting at 37oC. Taking samples after inoculum is introduced and every
30minutes after, labeling appropriately and refrigerating immediately.
b Material Processing
i. Using sterilizing SOP create labeled dilution sets using media from step
1.1Ai and yeast solution from step 1.1Aii in percent concentrations of 100,
85, 70, 55, 40, 25, and 10.
ii. Process dilution set and bioreaction samples through Lambda 35 UV/VIS
spectrometer using SOP and analyze from a wavelength of 1000 to 200nm
iii. Process dilution set and bioreaction samples through Synergy-HT Bio-Tek,
Microplate Reader using SOP and analyze from a wavelength of 1000 to
200nm.
iv. Process bioreaction samples through YC-100 Cell Counter using SOP and
performing dead and total cell counts.
v. Dilute bioreaction samples with DI water to 29% of original concentration
and reprocess on Lambda 35, and the Microplate Reader.
B Data analysis
a Compare wavelength profiles generated from steps 1Abii to 1Abv to determine
a wavelength were yeast cells absorb strongly but media does not, consider this
“ideal wavelength”.
b Calculate absorbance vs. concentration for media and yeast cells at ideal
wavelength to determine absorbtivity constant ε for both. If notable waste or
side product absorbance is determined to exist in bioreaction samples, consider
calculating absorbtivity constant ε for waste product as well.
c Calculate Yx/s and if using waste product absorbance Yx/w from bioreactor
sample results.

5 
 
 d Build Beer’s Law equation relating absorbance in terms of yeast cell
concentration using Yx/s (and if including waste product absorbance Yx/w) to
keep all concentration parameters in terms of yeast cell concentration.

2 Configuring and Tuning

A Flow through cell pump configuration
a Setup “blank” bioreactor filled with 1.5L media and settings as per step 1Aaiii
without inoculum.
b Connect sterilized peristaltic pump and lines to bio reactor and flow through
cell in Spectronic 21 UV/VIS spectrometer.
c Set to read absorbance of media and start pump.
d Adjust pump speed so that air bubbles do not get trapped in tubes but also do
not get pushed down far enough to interfere with UV/VIS light path.
e Verify stable absorbance signal and lack of air buildup in fluid lines for
10minutes, record optimized pump setting.
B UV/VIS Absorbance Offset Analysis
a Run 100%, 55%, and 10% concentrations of media and yeast solution created
in step 1Aai and 1Aaii through the flow through cell of the Spectronic 21 and
compare absorbance values at the ideal wavelength chosen in step 1Ba to those
obtained via the lambda 35.
b Generate offset values to the equation created from step 1Bd for use in the
continuous read Spectronic 21.
c Create 3 randomized known concentrations of media and yeast solution and
test analyze with spectronic 21 to verify beer’s law equation functionality.
C Tuning Reactor Run
a Connect Spectronic 21 to bioreactor and run bioreaction as in step 1Aaiii.
b Take samples every 1hr and attempt to process absorbance of the “ideal
wavelength” (IW) immediately on Lambda 35, Microplate Reader, and
yeast cell concentration on the YC-100 Cell Counter.
c Process data with equation and verify functionality, adjust equation as needed
to make a better fit of data.
d Encode equation into OPTO software receiving signal from spectronic 21 to
automatically generate plot and yeast cell concentration values

3 Performance Evaluation
A Initial Run – Maiden Voyage
a With Spectronic 21 connected to the bioreactor and enabled. And with OPTO
software configured and running. Perform a yeast reaction as in step 1Aaiii.
b Take samples every 1hr.
c Attempt to process samples immediately for IW absorbance on the Lambda 35,
and Microplate reader, as well as cell concentration on the YC-100 Cell
Counter.
d Compare data analysis, attempt to build bioreaction growth phase curves with
each instruments data set if possible and compare to automatic concentration
data and plot generation from customized OPTO software.
e Evaluate accuracy and ability to indicate phase transition clearly.

6 
 
 f Further adjust equation or software parameters for better clarity and/or
accuracy if necessary.
B Evaluation Series To Establish Statistics (as far as time allows)
a Run a series of three bio reactions as described in step 1Aaiii with the
spectronic 21 and customized software connected and enabled.
b On each run attempt to specifically collect samples in target growth regions of
the bioreaction. 2 samples from the lag region, 5 at the beginning of the
exponential growth phase 10 minutes apart, and 2 samples in the static phase.
c As in step 3Ac through 3Ae evaluate yeast cell concentration accuracy and
growth phase transition indication.
d Generate approximate 95% confidence error for both concentration accuracy
and growth phase transition time.
C Deviant Bioreaction Test (if time)
a Run a bio reaction with parameters notably different from 1Aaiii with
spectronic 21 and OPTO software connected and enabled to the bioreactor.
b Take samples and analyze as in steps 3Bb and 3Bc to verify robustness of real
time concentration analysis configuration.
D Deviant Absorbance Test (if time)
a Run a bioreaction as in step 1Aaiii with an impurity present at an initial known
concentration and absorbance
b Calculate theoretical absorbance offset in equation and enter option in software
to enter offset values for compounds beyond media and cells absorbing notably
at the IW.
c Perform bio reaction and analyze as in steps 3Bb and 3Bc for equation
robustness.
Table 1 Estimated Project Time Table Comment [T25]: The proposed work
schedule is reasonable and achievable.
Project Steps Specific dates are given for completion of each
Week Date Completed major phase of the project.
0 3/2/2010 1Aai, 1Aaiii
0 3/4/2010 1Abii, 1Abiii
1 3/9/2010 Complete up to 1Abv
1 3/11/2010 Complete up to 2Bc
2 3/16/2010 Complete up to 2Cd
2 3/28/2010 Complete up to 3Af
Facilities Closed
3 3/30/2010 Work on 3B
3 4/1/2010 Work on 3B
4 4/6/2010 Complete up to 3Bd
4 4/8/2010 Build Report of Work

Should the project fall behind certain aspects can be treated as “optional” and skipped in order to
restore the schedule within reason. The following items can be treated as optional to reduce the Comment [T26]: Contingency plans are given
to account for significantly probable roadblocks
experiment load in 4 stages should the indicated steps not be achieved according to the schedule the group may face if they are allowed to put
given by Table 1: their plan to actions.

7 
 
 Experiment Reduction 1 The earliest aspect of the experiment that can be treated as optional
and stripped from the experiment without changing the overall design early is sample
analysis on the Microplate Reader. This analysis is arguably redundant since both the
Lambda 35 and Microplate Reader use UV/VIS spectroscopy for analysis. If the project
has not yet completed step 1Abv on schedule, Microplate Reader analysis will be
dropped from all parts of the experiment.

Experiment Reduction 2 If step 2Cd is not completed on time it can be skipped so long as
the OPTO software can still communicate enough information to clearly indicate the cell
culture growth phase transitions.
Comment [T27]: Watch for inconsistent 
formatting, such as this odd gap. 

Experiment Reduction 3 If step 3Af is not completed on time the entire step 3A can be
skipped as it is to a degree a refinement of step 2C.

Experiment Reduction 4 If step 2B is not completed on time then error analysis of

concentration accuracy must be estimated from previous data or left out of the
experimental results and explained.
Should certain aspects of the experiment fail with no solution found to be reasonable in terms of
time and/or resources the following contingency options are to be considered:
Contingency Plan 1 Should the bioreactor and its control system fail, the experiment
will be carried out skipping bioreactor runs and be tested on a “dummy” system
composed of a sterilized large beaker covered with cheesecloth using media and
inoculum identical to what would be used in the bioreactor and allowed to run its course
at room temperature without sparging or pH control. While not ideal this should still
allow the real time cell concentration system to be developed.
Contingency Plan 2 Should any one of the three analysis instruments fail (lambda 35,
Microplate Reader, YC-100), it must be dropped from the experiment and the other two
instruments should be focused on.
Contingency Plan 3 Should the delivery loop mechanism (pump and flow through cell)
of the spectronic 21 fail, the experiment will change to be focused on analyzing why it
failed and what is needed to circumvent it, possibly moving on to design a customized
flow through cell or filtration system if time.
Contingency Plan 4 Should the spectronic 21 instrumentation fail, the project should be
re-focused to attempt working with T. Butterfield’s prototype sensor instead, either by
substituting it into the already outlined experiment or by following direction of Mr.
Butterfiled in analysis and design of the prototype sensor system itself.
Any equipment or experiment failures outside the scope of the pre-existing contingency plans
will be dealt with as needed and outlined clearly in the final experimental report.
The total estimated cost of this experiment is broken down and listed in Table 2. The format of
this table was provided by Dr. Eddings and is available at the University of Utah’s Chemical
Engineering Projects website (http://www.che.utah.edu/projectslab/Lecture_Material/
material.php).

8 
 
 Table 2: Budget Calculation Comment [T28]: The proposed budget
includes all required categories, is correctly
calculated, and is realistic and consistent with
Budget Calculation for "Continuous Cell Counter Project" the schedule.
Labor Weekl y Dol l ar 
A. Seni or Pers onnel  (l i s t names  bel ow) Weeks Rate* Amount
1 Stephen Grobs tei n 4.5 $   1,250.00 $   5,625.00
2 Chri s topher Brau 4.5 $   1,250.00 $   5,625.00
3 James  Johns on 4.5 $   1,250.00 $   5,625.00
4 $             ‐
5 $             ‐
6 $             ‐
A. Subtotal $      16,875
* calculated on Labor_Rate_Calc sheet (see tabs at bottom of this sheet)

Labor Weekl y Dol l ar 

B Other Pers onnel Weeks Rate* Amount
Engi neeri ng Staff 0.5 $   1,000.00 $      500.00
Other Profes s i onal s  (Techni ci an, Progra mmer, etc.) 1.5 $      807.69 $   1,211.54
Secretari al /cl eri cal 0 $      461.54 $             ‐
Other $             ‐
B. Total Salaries (A+B) $      18,587

C. Fri nge Benefi ts Cal cul ati on

Percentage 33% $         6,134

C. Total Salaries Wages and Fringe Benefits $      24,720

D. Equi pment (i temi ze and dol l ar amount for each) Item Cos t

Cel l  Counter Cartri dges $            900
Tubi ng $         25.00

D. Equipment Subtotal $            925

E. Travel Subtotal
Domesti c
Forei gn
E. Total Travel $             ‐

F. Other Di rect Cos ts Subtotal s

Materi al s  and Suppl i es $            209
Publ i cati on Cos ts
Cons ul tant Servi ces
Computer Servi ces
Subcontracts
Other
F. Total Other Direct Costs $            209

G. Total Direct Costs $      25,854

H. Indi rect Cos ts  
Percentage 49.5%
H. Indirect Costs $      12,798

I. Total Direct and Indirect Costs $      38,652
This represents total actual cost of the project

J. Cost Sharing $             ‐

K. Net Cost of Project to Sponsor $      38,652

9 
 
CAPABILITIES
The work load for this proposal has been evenly distributed between three group members; Christopher
Brau, James Johnson and Stephen Grobstein. Stephen and Chris both have a high degree of experience in Comment [T29]: Team management
bio-engineering and are pursuing careers in that field. As a whole, the group has an array of experience structure should be identified. In this sample
proposal there is too little detail on which tasks
working with bio reactors and bio-processes. This includes professional experience, extracurricular will fall to which individuals. In carrying out their
learning opportunities and experience gained from the curriculum at the University of Utah and project, however, each group member did take
on different responsibilities. Consideration of
University of Minnesota. such division of labor should be demonstrated.

Stephen Grobstein has taken part in several extracurricular research opportunities. These include This proposal was written before we had 1705
participation in Advanced Bio Fuels’ Fuel Ethanol workshop. A program aimed at developing engineers’ students working with 4905 students. Now, a
4905 team member should be clearly indicated
knowledge and understanding of advanced bio fuel technologies. Stephen has also worked with a USTAR as the one primarily responsible for managing
professor studying Great Salt Lake algae strings. Steve has firsthand experience working with the BioFlo the 1705 student. The roles of all 1705 student
110 Modular Benchtop Fermentor as he has researched the effects of rapamycin on growth phases of team members should also be clearly
explained.
yeast. From the course of this research Stephen and his previous experimental group concluded that an
on-line cell counting mechanism would be an invaluable addition to the current bioreactor module. Comment [T30]: The relevant experience and
qualifications of key team members are listed.
Christopher Brau has amassed plenty of related experience while working for Thermal Fischer. As a If a 1705 student has important experience
chemical engineer Chris has exceptional insight into bio-processes as he is also double majoring in Bio- relevant to the project, then that experience
Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. In his professional experience with HPLC, Chris has should also be described.
worked extensively with UV/VIS spectroscopy, with much attention directed towards absorbance
profiling of organic compounds and molecules. He has also had hands-on experience working on
industrial Bio-Reactors and has assisted in the design of a bio-reactor control system.

James Johnson has worked with an industrial rotating bed contactor used for the biological treatment of
waste water at Silver Eagle refinery; testing affluent water samples from the RBC unit to determine bio-
activity and degradation during the water treatment process. In his time as a laboratory technician at
Silver Eagle, James gained a working knowledge of the operation of many analytical devices; such gas
chromatography and x-ray spectroscopy. James has also gained much practical experience while working
at FLSmidth Minerals. Here has had been familiarized with various flowsheet operations such as
filtration, sedimentation and flotation. He has assisted in the mechanical set-up of bench and pilot scale
testing equipment for each of these processes.

10 
 
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES Comment [T31]: In this section all the needed
equipment and materials (including chemicals)
should be identified and adequately described.
The existing Bio-reactor located in the Chemical Engineering Laboratory, is the BioFlo 110 Modular
Benchtop Fermentor, manufactured by New Brunswick Scientific. It consists of a 2 liter jacketed vessel in Note that this project did not require purchase of
which cell growth occurs. It is operable as either a CSTR or batch reactor. The BioFlo reactor has any major pieces of equipment. If it did, an
accurate price quote should be given in this
advanced control capabilities as it is equipped with several control elements such as ph, gas flow, section. 
temperature, agitation, and anti-foam control. The unit also consists of: three peristaltic pumps, used for
the addition of concentrated acid and base solutions and anti-foaming agent; two probes, for measuring ph
and dissolved oxygen; and a gas flow mixer with rotameter, for controlling the flow from compressed
nitrogen and oxygen tanks. Selection of the various operational modes is made by accessing the primary
control unit; seen below at the top of the bioreactor:

Figure 2: BioFlo 110 Modular Benchtop Fermentor Comment [T32]: This is an image from the
Projects Lab web site and, as such, it should
While this unit is highly advanced, there are still limitations that arise when conducting research with this have a reference.

equipment. Currently the BioFlo reactor has no means of measuring cell concentration in real-time. Cell
concentrations are determined by sampling the reactor and measuring the number of cells in the sample
with the NucleoCounter Y-C 100 cell counter. This device (depicted below) employs cutting-edge
technology enabling the rapid and accurate analysis of culture samples.

11 
 
 Figure 3: NucleoCounter Y-C 100 Cell Counter

The principal drawbacks of using this cell counting method are that samples must be taken and processed
intermittently; this means that a judgment call must be made to decide the best time to take samples. The
sheer volume of samples that would be required to determine growth characteristics for a cell culture
dictate that a preferred method of tracking cell concentrations be developed.

It is proposed that a new method using continuous UV/VIS spectroscopy with a flow through cell be
employed to determine cell concentrations. With this method, cell solution will be pumped from the bio
reactor to a flow-through cell by a peristaltic hose pump. Absorbance from the flow through cell will be
measured continuously using the Bausch & Lomb Spectronic 21 continuous read UV/VIS spectrometer.
The Spectronic 21 and flow through cell are depicted below:

Figure 4: Bausch & Lomb Spectronic 21 Figure 5: Flow-Through Cell

It is the goal of our group to correlate this absorbance data to fit cell concentration profiles. Correlating
absorbance and cell concentration profiles will involve running batch tests in the bioreactor and sampling
the cell culture every half hour. Samples will then be analyzed using the cell counter to determine the
concentration of live cells. Absorbance of these samples will be measured over a spectrum of wavelengths

12 
 
by both the P.E. Lambda 35 UV/VIS spectrophotometer and the Synergy-HT Bio-Tek, Microplate
Reader; both of which can be seen below in the following figures:

Figure 6: P.E. Lambda 35 UV/VIS spectrophotometer

Figure 7: Synergy-HT Bio-Tek, Microplate Reader

While the real-time concentration’s measured by the UV/VIS may not be as reliable as the measurements
from the cell counter, it will offer valuable information about the growth characteristics of the cell culture.
The on-line measurements will allow for the determination of the type of growth that is taking place in the
bioreactor and give insight as to when samples should be taken for analysis on the Nucleo Y-C cell
counter.

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ANTICIPATED BENEFITS Comment [T33]: In this section the
anticipated benefits of the project are
persuasively presented, without exaggeration or
Currently the only way to determine if the cells are entering into a new phase of growth is to false claims.
record the Oxygen concentration and evaluate it for trends or by blindly take samples at short
The claimed benefits should reasonably follow
regular intervals. In the first case accuracy is questionable and actual transition times are very from the information given in the Technical
difficult to determine in real time. In the second case it is necessary to process a large amount of Background section, or from published articles,
with proper references where necessary.
samples costing time and resources. In both cases it is necessary to constantly interact with the
bio reactor during a given experiment.
With the completion of this project any person or group running the bioreactor will be able to
determine when the culture is transitioning between the lag, exponential, and stationary phases of
growth within 3 minutes. The transition from the stationary to the death phase is difficult to
determine with UV/VIS spectroscopy. This is due to the similarity in absorbance characteristics
between living and dead cells. Additionally the overall biomass concentration does not vary
significantly during this transition. Fortunately, most experiments done with the bioreactor focus
on the first three phases of growth and usually have no interest in the death phase. Having this
immediate view of bioreaction progress can enable users to take samples at specific times
relevant to the experiment being run. Additionally this view of cell concentration provides an
early warning if something goes wrong with the experiment.
This system also records real-time cell concentration data automatically with an error of less than
10% compared to the YC-100. In some cases this accuracy may be sufficient for a given
experiment; reducing or eliminating the need to take samples from the culture. This will directly
reduce the time, equipment and reagents needed to analyze samples taken from the culture.
In general, the hands-free automated nature of the real-time cell concentration system will free
users to pursue other aspects of an experiment instead of manually monitoring parameters and/or
taking samples constantly. Additionally it will allow focus on the data of interest and reduce
costs associated with analyzing samples.

Anticipated Safety and Environmental Impact Comment [T34]: All possible safety and
environmental hazards should be identified, and
they are not in this example.
There are no anticipated safety or environmental concerns with this work.
The authors state there are no such concerns
with this work. However, a leak occurred while
running the reactor when no one was present,
flooding the room below the Bioreactor. Such
possibilities must be included in this section.

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 Comment [T35]: Every symbol that appears
Nomenclature in the text must appear in this table and be
defined. The dimensions of each must be given.
Symbol Definition Units If a quantity is dimensionless, a hyphen is used
to so indicate.

Symbols should be listed alphabetically, and

μ Specific growth rate Greek letters should be separated from Latin to
make it easier for the reader to find a symbol of
X Cell mass concentration interest. Such organization was not used in this
sample report.

Initial cell mass concentration

Time

⁄ Yield coefficient for cell/substrate concentration

∆ Change in cell mass concentration

∆ Change in substrate concentration

Oxygen uptake rate

∗
Gross specific growth rate

⁄ Yield coefficient for cell/ concentration

Oxygen transfer rate

∗
Volumetric transfer coefficient
∗ Saturated dissolved oxygen concentration

Actual dissolved oxygen concentration.

Growth rate limiting chemical species

Substrate saturation constant

Inhibitor saturation concentration

Maximum specific growth rate

Volumetric Mass Transfer Coefficient
A Absorbance -
I Intensity of Incident Light Candelas

15 
 
References Comment [T36]: All references used in the
text are listed in an appropriate order and style.
All the needed information is accurately
1. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer-Lambert_law included.
2. Shuler Michael L., and Kargi Fikret, Bioprocess Engineering Basic Concepts, 2nd
In general, this proposal would benefit from
Edition., Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, NJ (2007). inclusion of more supporting material in the
Technical Background. Two references
(particularly when one is to Wikipedia) does not
lend enough confidence in the author’s
understanding of the work done by others in the
area of their proposal.

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 Comment [T37]: Appendixes contain
APPENDX A: MSDS supplemental information.

This proposal does not include preliminary data,

MSDS for Sodium Hydroxide though the authors did have such data. Raw
preliminary data should be included in an
appendix. 
General
Synonyms: caustic soda, soda lye, lye, white caustic, aetznatron, ascarite, Collo-Grillrein,
Collo-Tapetta, sodium hydrate, fotofoil etchant, NAOH, STCC 4935235, sodium
hydroxide pellets, Lewis red devil lye, stamperprep, tosoh pearl
Molecular formula: NaOH
CAS No: 1310-73-2
EC No: 215-185-5
Annex I Index No: 011-002-00-6

Physical data
Appearance: odourless white solid (often sold as pellets)
Melting point: 318 C
Boiling point: 1390 C
Vapour density:
Vapour pressure: 1 mm Hg at 739 C
Specific gravity: 2.12
Flash point: n/a
Explosion limits: n/a
Autoignition temperature:
Water solubility: High (Note: dissolution in water is highly exothermic)

Stability
Stable. Incompatible with a wide variety of materials including many metals, ammonium
compounds, cyanides, acids, nitro compounds, phenols, combustible organics.
Hygroscopic. Heat of solution is very high and may lead to a dangerously hot solution if
small amounts of water are used. Absorbs carbon dioxide from the air.

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MSDS for Sulfuric Acid

General
Synonyms: oil of vitriol, mattling acid, vitriol, battery acid, dipping acid, electrolyte acid,
vitriol brown oil, sulphuric acid
Molecular formula: H2SO4
CAS No: 7664-93-9
EC No: 231-639-5
EC index No: 016-020-00-8

Physical data
Appearance: Colourless oily liquid
Melting point: -2 C
Boiling point: 327 C
Specific gravity: 1.84
Vapour pressure: <0.3 mm Hg at 20 C (vapour density 3.4)
Flash point:
Explosion limits:
Autoignition temperature:
Water solubility: miscible in all proportions

Stability
Stable, but reacts with moisture very exothermically, which may enhance its ability to act
as an oxidizing agent. Substances to be avoided include water, most common metals,
organic materials, strong reducing agents, combustible materials, bases, oxidising agents.
Reacts violently with water - when diluting concentrated acid, carefully and slowly add
acid to water, not the reverse. Reaction with many metals is rapid or violent, and
generates hydrogen (flammable, explosion hazard).

18