Abstract
A model for the numerical simulation of the action of microbioreactor acting in the continuous flow mode was developed. The microbioreactor system was mathematically modelled by a two-compartment model based on transient reaction-diffusion equations containing a non-linear term related to the Michaelis–Menten kinetics of the enzymatic reaction. The effectiveness of microbioreactor and the process duration were numerically and partially analytically analysed at transition and steady-state conditions in a wide range of model parameters. The computational simulation was carried out using the finite difference technique. The performed calculations showed nonlinear effects of the internal and external diffusion limitations on the effectiveness and process duration.
Highlights
Bioactive materials like enzymes as process catalysts have been widely used in chemical, environmental, food and pharmaceutical industries [20, 40, 45]
When immobilized enzyme is attached to an impermeable solid support, the substrate is carried to the active sites of catalyst through the external diffusion layer
It was determined that increasing the effectiveness by decreasing the internal diffusion limitation is restricted when a short processing time is of crucial importance
Summary
Bioactive materials like enzymes as process catalysts have been widely used in chemical, environmental, food and pharmaceutical industries [20, 40, 45]. Multiple physical experiments is one way to identify and improve characteristics of the microreactor Another way is to model and simulate the processes within microreactors using state-of-the-art techniques of computational modelling [4]. Mathematical models act as an important tool in various bioreactor applications including protein synthesis and bioethanol production [16, 25, 38] These models are useful for planning efficient process control strategies and predicting the production performance. Mono compartment models, in which the internal mass transport by diffusion and substrate conversion is considered, are still used in different applications due to the model simplicity [6,7]. As the external diffusion was modelled by a diffusion shell surrounding the microreactor, the mathematical model explicitly includes no mass transfer rate. It was determined that increasing the effectiveness by decreasing the internal diffusion limitation is restricted when a short processing time is of crucial importance
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