Estimation of kinetic rates in batch Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultures.

In this work, the key problem of estimation in bioprocesses when no structural model is available is dealt with. A nonlinear observer-based algorithm is developed in order to estimate kinetic rates in batch bioreactors. The algorithm uses the measurements of biomass concentration and either substrate concentration or redox potential to perform the estimation of the respective specific kinetic rates. For this purpose, a general mathematical model description of the process is provided. The estimation algorithm design is based on a nonlinear reduced-order observer. The observer performance is validated with experimental results on a Thiobacillus ferrooxidans batch culture.