Towards model based control of PHA biopolymer production

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are an interesting class of biopolymers, which are synthesized by many microorganisms under unbalanced growth conditions as energy and carbon storage material. They are biodegradable and biocompatible. Polymer properties are closely related to the molecular weight distribution and co-polymer composition, both of which crucially depend on the substrates and the cultivation conditions. Challenges in the field of PHA synthesis are the reduction of production costs to make them more competitive to established polymers and the production of PHA biopolymers with tailor made properties. Cupriavidus necator is considered as a model organism. In a first step, suitable metabolic
models for online applications were developed, and coupled, in a second step, to the polymerization kinetics to predict polymer properties. The models will be used for model based control to meet the given product specifications under varying feed conditions. First control results were obtained in cooperation with the Findeisen group. The funding within the European Regional Development (ERDF) 'Center of Dynamic Systems' is greatly acknowledged.