Cybernetic modeling of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for ethanol production from steam-exploded wood with Brettanomyces custersii

The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process consists of concurrent enzymatic saccharification and fermentation. In the present cybernetic model, the saccharification process, which is based on the modified Michaelis-Menten kinetics and enzyme inhibition kinetics, was combined with the fermentation process, which is based on the Monod equation. The cybernetic modeling approach postulates that cells adapt to utilize the limited resources available to them in an optimal way. The cybernetic modeling was suitable for describing sequential growth on multiple substrates by Brettanomyces custersii, which is a glucose- and cellobiose-fermenting yeast. The proposed model was able to elucidate the SSF process in a systematic manner, and the performance was verified by previously published data.