ON-LINE METABOLIC FLUX ANALYSIS IN A PHB PRODUCTION PROCESS

A model-based algorithm is presented for the on-line monitoring of the oxidative phosphorylation efficiency and intracellular metabolic fluxes in mixed microbial cultures producing Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). The method assumes the knowledge of the metabolic reactions and the respective material and energetic balances. The on-line availability of dissolved O2, dissolved CO2, pH and off-gas concentrations of O2 and CO2 provides a sufficient set of measurements for the estimation of the remaining fluxes. The estimator was evaluated with simulations.