A Robust Nonlinear Estimator for a Yeast Fermentation Biochemical Reactor

Nonlinear state estimation is an active research area, particularly to address monitoring and control problems in continuous processes. Recently, literature evidenced that bioproduction of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, which usually employs batch manufacturing, can have significant product quality and financial benefits when using continuous mode. In this paper, the geometric approach is used to address the estimation problem of a bioreactor for ethanol production. The work is based on a detailed model reported in the literature, hereafter considered as the virtual plant. The main objective is to compare different estimation solutions depending on the available measurements and the characteristics of the considered sensors.