Patent ID: 8521310

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for integrated management of a biofuel production process, comprising: providing an integrated dynamic multivariate predictive model of distillation and dehydration processes of the biofuel production process, wherein the integrated dynamic multivariate predictive model models transient imbalances in material flows or levels between a batch fermentation process and a continuous distillation process; receiving an objective for the distillation and dehydration processes, wherein the objective comprises a target biofuel production rate; receiving process information, comprising distillation and dehydration process information, from the biofuel production process; executing the integrated dynamic multivariate predictive model to achieve the objective using the process information as input, thereby generating target values for a plurality of manipulated variables, wherein the target values comprise a target distillation feed flow rate; and controlling the biofuel production process, in accordance with the target values of the plurality of manipulated variables, wherein controlling the biofuel production process comprises controlling the distillation feed in accordance with the target distillation feed flow rate.