A simple kinetic model for growth and biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoate in Bacillus flexus

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), which is produced by several bacteria, is a biodegradable polymer that has many industrial and medical applications. This study deals with development of a simple kinetic model and modification of the logistic equation that can provide an adequate description of PHA formation process by Bacillus flexus. The parameters studied were kinetics of microbial growth, substrate consumption, and product formation. The microbial growth was described by simplification of Monod's model. A simplified Luedeking-Piret type model could be employed to represent the product kinetics. The kinetic constants were evaluated on the basis of non-linear regression and the differential equations were solved using Runge-Kutta algorithm and MATLAB software. A good agreement was found between the experimental and predicted values, which indicated that the model differential equations could describe the PHA formation and fermentation process. In this study, a modification of the logistic equation has also been attempted for describing the growth of B. flexus.