Homogenised model linking microscopic and macroscopic dynamics of a biofilm: Application to growth in a plug flow reactor

Chloé Deygout (1, 2) , Annick Lesne (3, 4) , Fabien Campillo (1, 2) , Alain Rapaport (1, 2)

1 MODEMIC - Modelling and Optimisation of the Dynamics of Ecosystems with MICro-organisme
2 MISTEA - Mathématiques, Informatique et STatistique pour l'Environnement et l'Agronomie
3 LPTMC - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée
4 IHES - Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques

We propose a new "hybrid" model for the simulation of biofilm growth in a plug flow bioreactor. Our approach consists in combining three scales: a microscopic one for the individual bacteria, a mesoscopic or "coarse-grained" one that homogenises at an intermediate scale the quantities relevant to the attachment/detachment process, and a macroscopic one in terms of substrate concentration. We compare our simulations with the numerical solutions of an existing partial differential equations model at the macroscopic scale.

Keywords: attachment-detachment; advection-diffusion; biofilm; partial differential equations; individual-based model; plug flow reactor

Domains: Modeling and Simulation; Ecology, environment

Chloé Deygout, Annick Lesne, Fabien Campillo, Alain Rapaport. Homogenised model linking microscopic and macroscopic dynamics of a biofilm: Application to growth in a plug flow reactor. Ecological Modelling, 2013, 250, pp.15-24. ⟨10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.10.020⟩. ⟨hal-00604377⟩