| Abstract: | The models available to describe lactic acid production do not seem to fit the experimental data very well, especially at the end of batch cultures. From a careful analysis of batch data, an unstructured model of the process has been derived, in which the specific growth rate variations and lactic acid concentration with time have been described by complemented logistic functions. Also, an additional term has been introduced into the Luedeking–Piret expression, taking into account the reduction in rate of lactic acid production observed at very low growth rate. |
