Abstract
This special issue of Industrial Biotechnology features work from participants in symposia SINAFERM (National Bioprocesses Symposium) and SHEB (Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Biomass Symposium), two events that occur simultaneously in Brazil, every two years.
The purpose of SINAFERM and SHEB is to feature the presentation and discussion of the latest advances in research carried out in universities, research institutes and companies. The events promoted interactions between science, technology and innovation in bioprocesses, offering different perspectives around addressing problems and describing them in terms of scientific and technological competence.
A bioprocess comprises several steps to obtain a product through biosynthesis by microorganisms and subsequent product recovery steps to achieve suitable purity for the product's application. It is a research area that is highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, since obtaining the final product requires the integrated work of several professionals of chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, pharmacy, biotechnology, chemical engineering, food engineering, and materials engineering, among others.
The first SINAFERM was held in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1964, with the initial name of the National Fermentation Symposium. In 1983, the need to discuss alternative technologies for the use of vegetal or microbiological biomass, associated with the interest in biofuels, was the driving force for the emergence of SHEB. The merger of these events occurred in 2013 in the city of Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil.
Consequently, SINAFERM/SHEB symposium has become the largest bioprocessing event for the diffusion of scientific findings of Brazilian researchers and industries, including their partnerships with foreign institutions. The event also strengthen their relationships and promotes further integration. Moreover, as higher education and research internationalizes, SINAFERM/SHEB as an organization has always been concerned to include international speakers.
XXII SINAFERM and XIII SHEB occurred from July 27–31, 2019, and was organized by School of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Brazilian Association of Chemical Engineering (ABEQ). The meetings were attended by participants from Brazil and abroad. This edition included 432 delegates who presented more than 500 works. Five exhibitors and 14 sponsors also participated. Financial support was provided by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Foundation for Research of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). In addition, 6 courses and 2 roundtable discussions were offered and there were 13 lecturers including researchers from Portugal and United States.
The lectures and the poster and oral sessions were structured in 12 thematic areas: Molecular Biology and Applied Systems Biology to Bioprocess; Biotechnology in Pharmaceutical Production; Biotechnology in Food, Beverages and Cosmetics Production; Modeling, Instrumentation, and Control of Bioprocesses; Microbiological Processes; Enzymatic Processes; Processes with Cells of Higher Organisms; Recovery and Purification of Bioproducts; Environmental Biotechnology; Biorefinery: Biomolecules and Biofuels; Pretreatment and Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Material; and Processes of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Biomass. The 2021 edition of SINAFERM/SHEB will be held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.