Increasing the volumetric productivity of fermentative ethanol production using a fed-batch vacuferm process

Abstract

This work presents theoretical evidence that the vacuferm technology can confer several advantages even when the fermentor is operated in fed-batch mode with small cycle times aiming to avoid the accumulation of potentially inhibitory side products. More specifically, a mathematical model for a fed-batch fermentor coupled with a vacuum flash tank for in situ ethanol recovery is developed and the simplest possible operational strategy is optimized within the context of maximizing the volumetric productivity of the process. Using numerical values obtained from the literature, it is demonstrated that significant increase in the volumetric productivity of ethanol (up to 33.5 kg EtOH m−3 h−1) can be achieved. Evidently, the results obtained indicate the potential to employ the proposed methodology to operate existing industrial facilities with minor modifications and equipment additions.