A simple and efficient model for calculating fixed capital investment and utilities consumption of large-scale biotransformation processes

Abstract

Environmental concerns and the depletion of fossil resources are the major factors that boost modern society towards bio-based and circular economy. To this end, the development of mathematical tools that can be used to perform rapid comparative analysis across multiple technology options is necessary. The aim of this work is to present a simple and accurate mathematical model, which describes the economics of the bioreaction section of a typical biotransformation technology. The functional dependency of fixed capital investment (FCI) and utilities consumption from parameters determined experimentally is developed using a regression model. The proposed model, which consists only of three equations, can be used to compare the economic performance of different bio-based technologies that could potentially reach commercialization. More specifically, it can be used to estimate, at the early stages of process development, the effect of final broth concentration (titer), fermentation time and aeration rate on overall process economics.