Mathematical Modeling of Sucrose Hydrolysis with Product and Substrate Inhibition

Abstract

In this work, the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction of sucrose through invertase under unsteady-state conditions has been investigated. The aim is to evaluate the inhibition phenomena influence on the reaction rate and, then, on the concentration and temperature profiles by simulating the process in a tubular reactor, varying the enzyme concentration and the reactant mixture velocity. The transport phenomena considered during the enzymatic hydrolysis process have been described by means of unsteady-state momentum, mass and energy balance equations, taking into account molecular and convective transport and generation terms. Interpretation and discussion of the results obtained by FEM resolution of PDEs involved allow to understand the relevance of the operating parameters.