Chapter 6 - Hybrid lattice Boltzmann continuum–discrete models

Abstract

In biofilm simulation, both cellular automaton (CA) and individual-based model (IbM) do not consider the dynamic transfer of solute components and hydrodynamics. However, the survival of any particular population in a diverse biofilm system is heavily reliant on three general processes: transformations, nutrient transport, and biofilm formation and growth. Therefore, mathematical models of biofilm growth require to account for bulk fluid flow, nutrient transport, and temperature as well as biofilm growth and development. In this chapter, we present the essential principles of these hybrid biofilm models based on lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) as well as the LBM coupling with CA or IbM for biotechnology and biotechnology simulation of spatiotemporal distribution of biofilms and bioconversion. We will discuss how and whether do LBM-based biofilm models, as the fourth-generation biofilm modeling techniques, incorporate CA or IbM in modeling biofilm growth and development. Due to the complex interactions among biofilm growth and hydrodynamics, we will explore the coupling of continuum processes of diffusive and advective mass transport with discrete processes of biomass spreading to explain the key mechanisms characterizing biofilm formation under various environmental circumstances.