Abstract
The objective is this study is to simulate a fixed-bed bioreactor using two different arrangements, the first is the modeling of N-reactors in series perfectly blended and then developing a model of a tubular reactor, and comparing the results of both and choose which one is the most appropriate model for optimization, in addition to corroborate the hypothesis that a tubular reactor can be represented as the sum of several reactors in series perfectly mix, the general idea is to have a generic model for the bioreactor that allows changes only to the generic parameters of the kinetic and physical properties of food to make a simulation for a bioreactor that fits within the designed parameters. The main model presented uses the Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with a packed bed bioreactor, which is used to produce ethanol from glucose, based on what the two models were made. After verifying the convergence of both models was performed to compare them, in the final concentration of N-reactor model mix as compared to real data bioreactor get an error of 2.9 % compared to the concentration of ethanol at the outlet of the reactor and for the same values the error of the tubular reactor model was an error of 7.1 % compared with the ethanol concentration at the outlet of the reactor. Consequently, it was decided to perform the model of perfect mixing N-reactors and validate the model with a scale bioreactor pilot plant wich is used for the purification of contaminated water with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the simulation result of this model proved to be a difference of 1.7 % compared to the concentration of COD from the pilot plant.
