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Special Issue "Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control"

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A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Fermentation Process Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2023 | Viewed by 5674

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Dr. Ricardo Aguilar-López

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Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Cinvestav, Mexico City, Mexico
Interests: chemical reaction engineering; control theory; kinetics; reaction kinetics; process engineering; kinetic modeling; modeling and simulation; advanced control theory; system modeling; systems dynamics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fermentation processes play an important role in the transformation industry, such as food, pharmaceutical, biofuels, industrial metabolites, and so on. As a result, the demand is increasing for high-quality products with low-energy consumption and operational safety, which can operate within the context of the very complex nature of biological systems. This, however, has made process operations difficult, leading to the development of intensive engineering strategies to achieve these performance objectives. Therefore, modeling and simulation tasks for optimization and control purposes in fermentation equipment are incredibly important.

The main goal of this Special Issue is to include the latest developments and advancements in process fermentation technology and bioprocessing to achieve progress in key industrial sectors. Special attention will be given to research topics such as high predictive modeling techniques, detailed process simulations to characterize realizable operating conditions, applications of multiobjective optimization techniques with the newest mathematical techniques, the design of online estimation procedures for process monitoring purposes and new controller designs, and improvements to closed-loop operation performance.

Overall, the aim of this issue is to support the development of sustainability assessment tools to measure the socioeconomic and environmental performance of innovative technical advances for fermentation processes.

Dr. Ricardo Aguilar-López
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fermentation technology
process modeling
simulation analysis
process optimization
control process
sustainability issues

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Acquisition, Characterization, and Optimization of Distilled Bioethanol Generated from Fermented Carrot (Daucus carota) Residues

Abraham Palacios-Velásquez

Violeta Quispe-Coquil

Enzo Martín Casimiro-Soriano

Karla Milagros Tapia-Zarate

and

Alex Rubén Huamán-De la Cruz

Fermentation 2023, 9(10), 867; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9100867 (registering DOI) - 25 Sep 2023

Abstract

Bioethanol is a liquid biofuel produced from the digestion of biomass and usable waste of organic origin. The objective of this research was to obtain bioethanol from carrot (Daucus carota) residues of the Peruvian Chantenay variety, with a high content of lignocellulosic substances. The in-batch process method of enzymatic hydrolysis, with Aspergillus niger amyloglucosidase, and fermentation, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, was applied. The ferment was steam distilled and chemically characterized. The process was evaluated by controlling pH and enzyme/yeast mass ratio through the response surface optimization. The optimum conditions for the best values of TSS and % ethanol content for the distilled product were a time of 300 min, yeast/enzyme mass ratio of 24.0, and pH of 4.98. The results showed a significant decrease in sugars in the hydrolysis and fermentation stages, optimum alcohol content in the distilled product of 92.48% (v/v), lower organic compound content, and net calorific value of 23.82 MJ/Kg, which is higher than those reported in the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Design and Construction of a New Reactor for Flexible Biomethanation of Hydrogen

and

Fermentation 2023, 9(8), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9080774 - 19 Aug 2023

Viewed by 380

Abstract

The increasing share of renewable electricity in the grid drives the need for sufficient storage capacity. Especially for seasonal storage, power-to-gas can be a promising approach. Biologically produced methane from hydrogen produced from surplus electricity can be used to substitute natural gas in the existing infrastructure. Current reactor types are not or are poorly optimized for flexible methanation. Therefore, this work proposes a new reactor type with a plug flow reactor (PFR) design. Simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics ^® showed promising properties for operation in laminar flow. An experiment was conducted to support the simulation results and to determine the gas fraction of the novel reactor, which was measured to be 29%. Based on these simulations and experimental results, the reactor was constructed as a 14 m long, 50 mm diameter tube with a meandering orientation. Data processing was established, and a step experiment was performed. In addition, a k_La of 1 h⁻¹ was determined. The results revealed that the experimental outcomes of the type of flow and gas fractions are in line with the theoretical simulation. The new design shows promising properties for flexible methanation and will be tested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Mathematical Modeling of Nitrification in Mixed Cultures: Insights into Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria Growth and Ammonia Starvation Effect

and

Fermentation 2023, 9(7), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9070681 - 20 Jul 2023

Viewed by 573

Abstract

Nitrification, a crucial process in wastewater treatment, involves the conversion of ammonium nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen through the sequential activities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In the present study, a comprehensive mathematical model was developed to describe the nitrification process in mixed cultures involving isolated NOB and starved AOB. The growth equation for NOB was divided into anabolism and catabolism, elucidating the key substrates driving their metabolic activities. Considering the ammonia starvation effect, a single cell-based model was developed to capture the mass transfer phenomena across the AOB cell membrane. This addition allowed for a more accurate representation of the biological dynamics during starvation conditions. The model’s accuracy was tested using experimental data that was not used in the model calibration step. The prediction’s coefficient of determination (R²) was estimated at 0.9. By providing insights into the intricate mechanisms underlying nitrification, this model contributes to the advancement of sustainable wastewater treatment practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Production of Glyoxylate from Glucose in Engineered Escherichia coli

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Fermentation 2023, 9(6), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9060534 - 31 May 2023

Viewed by 950

Abstract

Glyoxylates are essential intermediates in several metabolic pathways and have a broad range of industrial applications. In this study, we propose a novel method for producing glyoxylate from glucose using engineered Escherichia coli BW25113. To direct the production of glyoxylate from glucose, malate synthase A (aceB), malate synthase G (glcB), glyoxylate carboligase (gcl), and glyoxylate/hydroxypyruvate reductase A (ycdW) genes were disrupted, and the glyoxylate shunt was reinforced in the disruptants by the overexpression of citrate synthase (gltA) and isocitrate lyase (aceA). In flask cultivation using M9 medium supplemented with 1% glucose, the disruptant E. coli BW25113 ΔaceB ΔglcB Δgcl ΔycdW produced 0.93 ± 0.17 g/L of glyoxylate. Further overexpression of gltA and aceA in the disruptant resulted in an improvement in glyoxylate production to 1.15 ± 0.02 g/L. By expressing a heterologous gene, pyc, in the engineered E. coli, the accumulation of intracellular oxaloacetate remarkably improved, leading to glyoxylate production of up to 2.42 ± 0.00 g/L with specific productivity at 4.22 ± 0.09 g/g-cell. To date, this is the highest reported titer and specific productivity of glyoxylate in E. coli. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Improving the Functionality of Lentil–Casein Protein Complexes through Structural Interactions and Water Kefir-Assisted Fermentation

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Fermentation 2023, 9(2), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9020194 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1674

Abstract

Highly nutritious lentil proteins (LP) have recently attracted interest in the food industry. However, due to their low solubility, extensive application of LP is severely limited. This study describes a new and successful method for overcoming this challenge by improving the nutritional–functional properties of LP, particularly their solubility and protein quality. By combining protein complexation with water kefir-assisted fermentation, the water solubility of native LP (~58%) increases to over 86% upon the formation of lentil–casein protein complexes (LCPC). Meanwhile, the surface charge increases to over −40 mV, accompanied by alterations in secondary and tertiary structures, as shown by Fourier-transform infrared and UV-vis spectra, respectively. In addition, subjecting the novel LCPC to fermentation increases the protein digestibility from 76% to over 86%, due to the reduction in micronutrients that have some degree of restriction with respect to protein digestibility. This approach could be an effective and practical way of altering plant-based proteins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Open AccessReview

Biosynthesis of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide: Current Metabolic Engineering Strategies, Challenges, and Prospects

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Fermentation 2023, 9(7), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9070594 - 26 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1337

Abstract

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is an essential precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), which is widely applied in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The biosynthesis of NMN is currently attracting much attention because it has non-toxic reaction conditions and low amounts of isomers, whereas chemical synthesis has low yields and is not environmentally friendly. This review systematically describes the two biosynthetic pathways of NMN in detail for the first time and introduces the latest studies on NMN production through different pathways using metabolic engineering strategies. NMN accumulation can be improved by optimizing the activity of key enzymes, enhancing the supply of precursors and co-factors, inhibiting the synthesis of byproducts, and promoting product export. Finally, we also discuss the current challenges of producing NMN and possible solutions for the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control)

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Special Issue "Fermentation Processes: Modeling, Optimization and Control"

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