This is the second edition of the text "Bioreaction Engineering Principles" by Jens Nielsen and John Villadsen, originally published in 1994 by Plenum Press (now part of Kluwer). Time runs fast in Biotechnology, and when Kluwer Plenum stopped reprinting the first edition and asked us to make a second, revised edition we happily accepted. A text on bioreactions written in the early 1990's will not reflect the enormous development of experimental as well as theoretical aspects of cellular reactions during the past decade. In the preface to the first edition we admitted to be newcomers in the field. One of us (JV) has had 10 more years of job training in biotechnology, and the younger author (IN) has now received international recognition for his work with the hottest topics of "modem" biotechnology. Furthermore we are happy to have induced Gunnar Liden, professor of chemical reaction engineering at our sister university in Lund, Sweden to join us as co-author of the second edition. His contribution, especially on the chemical engineering aspects of "real" bioreactors has been of the greatest value. Chapter 8 of the present edition is largely unchanged from the first edition. We wish to thank professor Martin Hjortso from LSU for his substantial help with this chapter.