A Strategy to Regulate Continuous Fermentation Processes with Unknown Reaction Rates

Abstract

Identification and control of continuous fermentation processes are dif-ficult tasks due to the complexity and high coupling of dynamic behaviour of this kind of system. In this work is implemented an on-line estimation technique of the main uncertainties of a fermentation processes (e.g. specific growth rate, biomass concentration and yield coefficient) based on a mass balance, to generate a linearising feedback control law that provides a robust stabilisation against uncertainties. By numerical simulations the performance of the closed-loop system and the controller design procedure is illustrated.