Optimization of a micro-organisms culture in a fedbatch bioreactor using an intracellular model

The production of biomass by micro-organisms is of great interest in more and more industrial fields. Their culture in fedbatch bioreactors is largely used and the optimization of the influent flow rate is a major challenge to set the microorganisms in the highest performance conditions. Usually, sets of experiments are achieved to compute macroscopic models expressing the observed growth as a function of the concentrations of glucose, cell density, and any kind of external parameters (pH, temperature, etc.). In contrast, this paper relies on an intracellular model of a bacteria, which is used to determine the optimal profile of influent flow rate in a fedbatch bioreactor to produce as much biomass as possible. Compared to macroscopic models, the additional elements of this model better describe biological phenomena. The intracellular part of the model also provides a clear interpretation of the obtained optimal influent profile.