Simulated fermentation process

Abstract

A method of modeling a fermentation process comprises providing a first principles model of a fermentation process; determining the concentration of at least one substrate in a fermentation composition at a first time; and predicting the concentration of at least one component of the fermentation composition at a second time using the first principles model, wherein the second time is after the first time.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer implemented system for a fermentation simulation tool for simulating a fermentation process, said system comprising:
 at least one processor;   a memory comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for a first principles fermentation simulation tool defining a first principles model of a fermentation process, wherein instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to:
 receive an initial concentration of at least one substrate in a fermentation composition at a first time; 
 predict a first concentration of at least one component of the fermentation composition at a second time using the first principles model of the fermentation process with the received initial concentration of the at least one substrate and, wherein the second time is after the first time; 
 adjust an operating parameter of the fermentation process based on the predicted first concentration at the second time when the predicted first concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at the second time varies from a target concentration by more than a predetermined threshold amount. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict a second concentration of the at least one substrate at a third time between the first time and the second time; and tune the first principles model based on the second-concentration determination. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict by regression analysis at least one parameter of the first principles model using the second concentration determined at the third time; and predict the concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at the second time using the first principles model with the at least one predicted parameter from the second concentration determined at the third time. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the operating parameter comprises at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: dissolved oxygen content in an initial wort feed, fermentation time, fermentation temperature, and fermentation pressure. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the fermentation process comprises: preparing a feed composition comprising the at least one substrate; introducing a biologic agent to the feed composition to form the fermentation composition; and fermenting the fermentation composition to convert at least a portion of the substrate into at least one product. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the fermentation process comprises a beer fermentation process, a wine fermentation process, a yogurt fermentation process, or a pharmaceuticals fermentation process. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict a final value of the operating parameter at the end of the fermentation process based at least in part on the first principles model, wherein the operating parameter comprises at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of: a sugar concentration, a density, a color, a pH, an alcohol concentration, a real extract value, an apparent extract value, a real degree of fermentation value, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the first principles model includes a plurality of sub-models comprising: a growth model to account for the growth of a biologic agent, a substrate model to account for the decrease in the concentration of the substrate, and a product model to account for the increase in the concentration of the at least one product of the fermentation process. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the substrate comprises a sugar, a polysaccharide, a protein, an inorganic compound, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the component comprises a biologic agent, the substrate, an additional substrate, or a fermentation product. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 21  wherein instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict an additional concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at an additional time after the second time using the first principles model with the adjusted operating parameter which is based on the predicted first concentration. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 21  further comprising a user interface, wherein the processor is configured to display the predicted additional concentration via the user interface, and wherein the processor is configured to display the predicted first concentration via the user interface. 
     
     
         33 . A method of modeling a fermentation process comprising:
 providing a first principles model of a fermentation process;   determining the concentration of at least one substrate in a fermentation composition at a first time;   predicting the concentration of at least one component of the fermentation composition at a second time using the first principles model, wherein the second time is after the first time;   adjusting, by a control system, an operating parameter of the fermentation process in response to the predicted concentration varying from a target concentration by more than a threshold amount.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the method is repeated at periodic intervals during
 the fermentation process.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising:
 determining a second concentration of the at least one substrate at a third time between the first time and the second time;   tuning the first principles model based on the second concentration determination; and   re-predicting the concentration of the component of the fermentation composition at the second time using the first principles model.   
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the fermentation process comprises:
 preparing a feed composition comprising the at least one substrate;   introducing a biologic agent to the feed composition to form the fermentation composition; and   fermenting the fermentation composition to convert at least a portion of the substrate into at least one product.   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein determining the concentration of the at least one
 substrate at the first time comprises determining the concentration of a plurality of substrates at the first time.   
     
     
         38 . A computer implemented system for implementing a fermentation simulation tool comprising:
 at least one processor;   a memory comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a first principles fermentation simulation tool defining a first principles model for a fermentation process, wherein the first principles fermentation simulation tool configures the processor to:
 receive an initial concentration of at least one substrate in a fermentation composition at a first time; 
 predict a first concentration of at least one component of the fermentation composition at a second time using the first principles model of the fermentation process with the received initial concentration of the at least one substrate, wherein the second time is after the first time; 
 and 
 adjust an operating parameter of the fermentation process in response to input provided by an user via a user interface when the predicted first concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at the second time varies from a target concentration by more than a predetermined threshold amount. 
   
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38  wherein instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict an additional concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at an additional time after the second time using the first principles model with the adjusted operating parameter which is based on the predicted first concentration. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the first principles fermentation simulation tool further configures the processor to: receive a second concentration of the at least one substrate at a third time between the first time and the second time; and tune at least one parameter used by the first principles model based on the second concentration. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 38 , further comprising a control system interface configured to adjust one or more operating parameters of the fermentation process, and wherein the first principles fermentation simulation tool further configures the processor to adjust at least one operating parameter of the fermentation process when the first or the new predicted concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition varies from a target concentration by more than a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the processor is configured to display the predicted first concentration via the user interface. 
     
     
         43 . A computer implemented system for implementing a fermentation simulation tool comprising:
 at least one processor;   a user interface;   a memory comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a first principles fermentation simulation tool defining a first principles model for a fermentation process, wherein the first principles fermentation simulation tool, when executed by the processor, configures the processor to:
 receive an initial concentration of at least one substrate in a fermentation composition at a first time; 
 predict a first concentration of at least one component of the fermentation composition at a second time using the first principles model of the fermentation process with the received initial concentration of the at least one substrate, wherein the second time is after the first time; 
 receive an adjusted operating parameter input for the fermentation process via the user interface;
 display on the user interface the predicted new concentration; and 
 
 adjust an operating parameter of the fermentation process in response to input provided by an user via the user interface when the predicted first concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at the second time varies from a target concentration by more than a predetermined threshold amount. 
   
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 43  wherein instructions for the first principles model configure the processor to predict a new concentration of the at least one component of the fermentation composition at a time after the second time using the first principles model with the adjusted operating parameter.