Relational Database for the Description of Fermentation inside a Simulation Software

Simulators are well established tools for instructing, design, and development of bioprocesses with the advantages of its portability, safety, user friendliness, and cost-effectiveness [1]. However, commercially simulators commonly work as a black box and consequently, their mathematical models are not displayed and/or being available for its modification. And therefore, it is not possible to recognize the assumptions made [2], [3] complicating the comprehension of the process. Furthermore, simulators are not generally intended to evaluate the feasibility of the simulated scenarios ergo users require a high previous knowledge of the bioprocess. This is highly relevant in case of fermentation processes as their mathematical models have several complexity layers and involve biological, chemical, physical and mechanical components. Moreover, bioprocess simulators commonly suffer from the lack of an organized database for the differentiation and analysis of the model components as well as the aforementioned limitations [4].
In this work, a prototype database that embeds common limits and values of the parameters of bioprocesses, is presented. This database is integrated inside a software platform called FermProc[5]. FermProc allows the display, reuse and modification of models and it is being developed at the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering of the Technical University of Denmark as a pedagogical software for teaching of bio-manufacturing processes.