Patent ID: 8755939

Claim:
A method, comprising: (a) determining a desired throughput of a continuous process of a biofuel production process; (b) determining a non-linear relationship between residence time of a batch fermentation process of the biofuel production process and a property of ethanol generated by the batch fermentation process during the residence time using model-based predictive control algorithms; (c) determining an optimal residence time of the non-linear relationship at which a ratio of the property of the ethanol generated to the residence time is maximized; (d) calculating a yield of the batch fermentation process as a function of the optimal residence time; (e) determining a desired output of the biofuel production process based on the calculated yield and the desired throughput, wherein the desired output maximizes an economic value of the continuous process throughput based on a balance between the calculated yield and the desired throughput; and (f) controlling the biofuel production process to adjust a residence time of the batch fermentation process to the optimal residence time and to adjust a continuous process throughput of the biofuel production process based on the determined desired output.