Mechanistic understanding of mixed-culture fermentations by metabolic modelling

Abstract

Biorefineries are set to become an important agent in the shift towards a circular economy due to their potential to valorise organic wastes into marketable products. Anaerobic fermentations yielding volatile fatty acids are a key process in this production scheme as their products act as intermediates between the organic wastes and the final biorefinery products. However, their product selectivity is highly influenced by the environmental conditions and the mechanisms governing the process remain unknown. In this thesis, predictive tools were developed with the objective of understanding the mechanisms governing anaerobic fermentations and of designing processes targeting specific volatile fatty acids with high productivity.