Fermentation engineering refers to the use of certain specific functions of microorganisms, the use of modern engineering technology to produce products useful to human beings, or the direct application of microorganisms to industrial production processes. The contents of fermentation engineering include strain selection, culture medium preparation, sterilization, expanded culture and inoculation, fermentation process and product separation and purification.

It is an important branch of the first-class discipline of light industry technology and engineering and the key development of the two disciplines, and plays a key role in the process of biotechnology industrialization. Fermentation includes fermentation strictly defined by microbial physiology and industrial fermentation, and fermentation in fermentation engineering should be industrial fermentation.

In industrial production, products are processed or made through industrial fermentation, and the corresponding processing or making process is called "fermentation process". In order to realize industrial production, it is necessary to solve the engineering problems of industrial production environment, equipment and process control in order to realize these processes (fermentation process), so there is "fermentation engineering"

Fermentation engineering is a subject to solve the engineering problems of industrial production according to fermentation technology. Fermentation engineering from the engineering point of view, the fermentation industrial process of realizing fermentation technology is divided into three stages: strain, fermentation and refining (including wastewater treatment). These three stages have their own engineering problems, which are generally called upstream, midstream and downstream projects of fermentation engineering respectively.

Application of fermentation engineering specialty;

Application of 1. in pharmaceutical industry: Based on fermentation engineering technology, a variety of drugs have been developed, such as human growth hormone, recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, some kinds of monoclonal antibodies, interleukin -2, anti-hemophilia factors, etc.

2. Application in food industry: There are mainly three types of products. One is to produce traditional fermented products, such as beer, fruit wine and vinegar. The second is to produce food additives; The third is to help solve the food problem.

3. Application in the field of environmental science: microbial reinforcement in sewage treatment.