Mathematical modelling of chemical processes is becoming an increasingly important part of chemical engineering practice. The implementation of simulations based on mathematical models is of particular interest in the field of microfluidics, as the description of these systems is relatively simple and accurate due to the laminar flow regime.
In this work, we present a mathematical model that predicts the concentration profile of the substrate and product of an enzyme-catalysed reaction in a microchannel. The latter contains the enzyme immobilised in a thin gel layer on the surface of the two faces that confine the channel. A laminar flow of solvent flows through the microreactor, with mass transport controlled by convection and diffusion. The kinetics of the model follows the previously presented enzyme microkinetics based on a system of 14 differential equations which, in addition to the conversion of substrate into product, also describe the interactions of these molecules with the enzyme surface.
The rate constants of the kinetic model were determined by fitting the predictions of the enzyme microkinetics model to the experimental data determined in a batch system. The parameters obtained were then used to simulate enzyme kinetics in a microreactor.
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