Team:UESTC-China/Model

team

Why did we model? What did we hope to achieve?

Building a mathematical model allows us to understand the system we build more concretely, and we can use the mathematical model to optimize our system. We hope to establish a kinetic model for the synthesis of butanol and hydrogen, respectively, and determine the optimal conditions for fermentation process. In order to further explore and optimize our system, we hope to use this model to explore the rate-limiting steps and more sensitive parameters in fermentation reaction, so as to improve the yield effectively. We also hope to theoretically prove the feasibility of the hydrogen production system.

What methodologies did we use for modelling?

We use many modeling techniques and methods to most accurately evaluate our systems. These include: 1. We use the Box-BehnKen method to design the experiment and get the data. 2. We used multiple regression analysis and ANOVA to process the experimental data. 3. We use response surface analysis to find the optimal solution 4. The ODE equation describing biochemical reactions was established according to mass conservation and Michelson kinetics. 5. We use sensitivity analysis to find key parameters.

What are our achievements?

In order to find the best fermentation conditions, we designed the experiment and used the experimental data to produce butanol function. The optimal fermentation conditions and maximum yield were obtained for the optimal solution of the function. Then we did the experiment again under the best fermentation conditions, and the results showed that the yield has obviously increased. This reflects the guidance of the model to the experiment and verse vise experimental support to the model.

We established a molecular dynamics model for biochemical reactions. For the butanol production system, we find the reaction speed limiting step and the sensitive parameters. For the hydrogen production system, we have theoretically proved that the hydrogen production of the constructed Escherichia coli is relatively high. This theoretically demonstrates the feasibility of the project.