Biomass continuity equation[edit]

We know,
Flow rate of biomass into the reactor = Fxi
Flow rate of biomass out of the reactor = Fx
Rate of generation of biomass by reaction = Vr1
Rate of accumulation of biomass within the reactor = d(Vx)/dt
Now, apply general mass balance equation i.e.,
Rate of Mass In – Rate of Mass Out + Rate of Generation = Accumulation
d(Vx)/dt = Fxi – Fx + Vr1 (2)
Where r1 is the rate of cell generation. Dividing both sides of the above equation by V, we obtain
dx/dt = (F/V)xi – (F/V)x + r1 (3)
In the chemical reaction engineering, F/V is called space velocity(s−1) and V/F is called
the residence time (s). But in biochemical engineering, F/V is known as Dilution rate (Dr).
Accordingly, equation(3) yields:
dx/dt = Drxi – Drx + r1 (4)
dx/dt = Dr(xi – x) + r1 (5)
Substrate continuity equation[edit]
For substrate balance,
Flow rate of substrate into the bioreactor = FSi
Flow of the substrate out of the bioreactor = FS
Rate of generation of substrate by reaction = –Vr2
Rate of accumulation of substrate within the reactor = d(VS)/dt
Now, apply general mass balance equation i.e.,
Rate of Mass In – Rate of Mass Out + Rate of Generation = Accumulation
d(VS)/dt = FSi – FS – Vr2 (6)
rearranging above equation, we get
dS/dt = Dr(Si –S ) – r2 (7)
where r2 is the rate of substrate consumption.
Biochemical reaction kinetics[edit]
For the chemical reaction,
A ----> P
We can write
( –rA) = k (CA)n (8)
(rA) = – k (CA)n (9)
Where,
( –rA) = rate of disappearance of A
(rA) = rate of formation of A
k = reaction rate constant
CA = Concentration of reactant A
n = order of reaction with respect to component A
For first order reaction, n = 1 and accordingly,
–rA = k CA
The reaction kinetics involved in biochemical operations is comparatively difficult to obtain than the
chemical reaction kinetics. In biochemical operations, the cell kinetics is used for the unstructured
models where balanced growth condition is assumed.
The following equation is used to represent the net rate of cell mass growth:
r1 = μx (10)
where μ is the specific growth rate or specific growth rate coefficient(s −1). Here, μ is analogous to first
order rate constant k but however, μ is not a constant.
In biochemical engineering, yield is defined as the ratio of mass or moles of product formed to the
mass or moles of the reactants consumed. The yield (Y) of product (P) with respect to reactant A is
defined as:
Y = (mass of P formed )/(mass of A consumed) (11)
In case of bioreactor,