Analysis of substrate limited fermentation in a dispersed plug-flow reactor

Abstract

A tubular reactor, in which there is a dispersed plug-flow and in which a single cell fermentation occurs is critically analyzed using a lumped approximation technique. Estimates of the bounds of Fermentation Number where multiple solutions can occur and the necessary and sufficient conditions for stability to small perturbations are presented. Analysis has been made of fermentation processes involving both gaseous and non-gaseous limiting substrates and operated under sterile and non-sterile feed conditions: non-inhibitory and inhibitory kinetic have been examined in all cases. The results are presented both analytically and graphically, and they are compared with those obtained using a marching Runge-Kutta method.