Modeling and static optimization of the ethanol production in a cascade reactor. I. Modeling

Let us consider the modeling of a cascade reactor for the production of ethanol. The rates of reaction in alcoholic fermentation are modeled so that it can assume both ethanol and substrate inhibition, in relation to the observed results. A nonstructured model, based on biomass, substrate, and ethanol concentrations, is developed and identified. It is a complex model, this being due to the nonlinearity between the specific rate of ethanol production and the growth rate and, on the other hand, the study of the static optimization of ethanol fermentation is performed.