Existence of equilibrium points and stability of the nonlinear dynamical system in microbial continuous cultures

In this paper, the nonlinear dynamical system of glycerol fermentations to 1,3-PD by Klebsiella pneumoniae in continuous cultures is investigated. We examine the existence of equilibrium points and deduce the permissible range of two main operating conditions (dilution rate and substrate concentration in feed) in continuous fermentations. Subsequently, algorithms are developed to calculate the equilibrium points and the upper boundary of dilution rate, respectively. The multiple steady states and stability of the system are also discussed.