The scope of the field of biotechnological processes is very wide, covering such processes as fermentations for production of high-valued specialist chemicals (such as pharmaceuticals), high-volume production of foods and feeds (such as yoghurt, cheese and beer), as well as biological waste treatment, handling solid (composting), liquid (activated sludge) and gaseous wastes (biofilters). Compared to other engineering disciplines, the introduction of modern optimization and control strategies is lagging behind. Two main reasons can be identified. First, the living organisms (or part thereof) that are central to these processes make the mathematical modelling of the processes a difficult task and, since models are central to the development of control systems, the on-line control problem is also complex. The other difficulty stems from the absence, in most cases, of cheap and reliable instrumentation suited to real-time monitoring. In this book a number of advanced techniques for dealing with these problems are introduced.
The book is directed at engineers, researchers and students in the field of process control and systems theory as applied to industrial biotechnological processes, as well as at bioengineers who have some background in control engineering and wish to increase their understanding of how advanced control-theory applies to biological processes.