Modeling and simulation of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of paper mill sludge to lactic acid

Modeling and simulation for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process in bioconversion of paper mill sludge to lactic acid was carried out. The SSF process combined the enzymatic hydrolysis of paper mill sludge into glucose and the fermentation of glucose into lactic acid in one reactor. A mathematical modeling for cellulose hydrolysis was developed, based on the proposed mechanism of cellulase adsorption deactivation. Another model for simple lactic acid fermentation was also made. A whole mathematical model for SSF was developed by combining the above two models for cellulose hydrolysis and lactic acid fermentation. The characteristics of the SSF process were investigated using the mathematical model.