Optimal parametric sensitivity control of a fed-batch reactor

The paper presents an optimal parametric sensitivity controller for estimation of a set of parameters in an experiment. The method is demonstrated for a fed-batch bioreactor case study for optimal estimation of the half-saturation constant KS and the parameter combination µmaxX/Y in which µmax is the maximum specific growth rate, X is the biomass concentration, and Y the yield coefficient. The resulting parametric sensitivity controller for the parameter KS is utilized in two sequential experiments using a ‘bang–bang-singular’ control strategy. Comparison with an optimal solution for the weighted sum of squared sensitivities for both parameters are compared with the individual cases where only one specific parametric output sensitivity is controlled. The parametric uncertainty is handled in a completely deterministic way as to arrive at a control law that maximizes the parametric output sensitivity.