Integrated hazard identification within the risk management of industrial biological processes

In recent years bioprocesses are becoming a cornerstone of the production industry and have been implemented for large scale production. Despite its importance, the safety of such processes has not been yet systematically analyzed and studied. The hazards of biotechnological processes entail both conventional chemical process hazards and biohazards related to the presence of microorganisms. In the present study a specific methodology for hazard identification in biotechnological processes has been developed, aimed at the integrated assessment of conventional hazards and biohazards at industrial scale. The potentialities and outcome of the methodology were tested by its application to the anaerobic digestion of animal manure for biogas production, which represents a widespread bioprocess for energy production from renewable sources.