Gas fermentation (chemolithoautotroph) simulation

2 inlets (gas feed H2/O2/CO2 + liquid medium) -> off-gas, biomass broth

Governing equations

The exact equations the solver works for a gas fermentation (chemolithoautotroph) — the same math shown in the app's "Theory" panel, not a black box.

$C^*_i$

saturation (Henry's-law) dissolved concentration of gas i [mol/m³]

$C$

actual dissolved concentration — taken ≈0, the mass-transfer-limited regime a gas fermenter is designed for

$p_i$

partial pressure of i in the gas feed [Pa]

$H_i$

Henry's constant [Pa·m³/mol] — why a poorly-soluble gas like H₂ is the bottleneck

$k_L a$

volumetric gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient [1/s]

$V$

liquid working volume [m³]

$f_s$

electrons routed to cell synthesis [0..1] (McCarty)

$f_e$

electrons routed to energy generation — the two must sum to 1

$r_j$

stoichiometric ratio of species j to H₂ at this f_s

$\dot n$

molar flow [mol/s]

Parameters

volume [m^3], kla_1_s [1/s, volumetric gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient], henry_constant_pa_m3_mol [H2 Henry's-law constant], fs [(0,1], fraction of donor electron equivalents routed to biosynthesis]; optional biomass [default 'biomass']. Inlets: [gas feed with h2/oxygen/co2, liquid medium]. Outlets in order: gas (off-gas), broth (liquid + biomass)

Example flowsheets that use it