Process modelling of enzymatic hydrolysis is useful as a tool for better scientific understanding of the process, as well as for predicting the effect of process changes in connection with optimizing the process for commercial use.
Two approaches will be shown. The first one is an empirical model, a.k.a. "curve fitting". This approach is used for comparing enzyme blends or substrates pairwise, and for assessing the economic feasibility of the process. The second approach is a kinetic model based on numerical integration of a set of coupled differential equations. This approach is used for predicting process performance for different enzyme doses and hydrolysis time. The second approach has the additional advantage that it can possibly relate observations to process mechanisms, in order to gain an enhanced understanding of these, but it also involves more assumptions than the empirical approach.