Recent developments in modeling of solid-state fermentation: heat and mass transfer in bioreactors

Mathematical models are important tools for optimizing the design and operation of solid-state fermentation (SSF) bioreactors. Such models must describe the transport phenomena within the substrate bed and mass and energy exchanges between the bed and the other subsystems of the bioreactor, such as the bioreactor wall and headspace gases. The sophistication with which this has been done for SSF has improved markedly over the last decade or so. The current article reviews these advances, showing how the various transport phenomena have been modeled. It also discusses the insights that have been achieved through the modeling work and the improvements to models that will be necessary in order to make them even more powerful tools in the optimization of bioreactor performance. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.