Optimizing Oxygen Input Profiles for Efficient Estimation of Michaelis-Menten Respiration Models

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Models based on mass balances and Michaelis-Menten respiration kinetics are increasingly used to determine optimal storage conditions of fresh fruits and vegetables. The model parameters are usually estimated from respiration experiments at different, but fixed, gas conditions according to a response surface design. This is a tedious procedure that requires a gas mixing facility or a series of gas cylinders with appropriate composition. In this paper, we consider a simpler approach, in which the respiration kinetics of pear fruit are modeled using a single experiment with a time-varying O 2 input profile. To optimize the information content produced by the O 2 profile, we apply optimal dynamic experimental design principles and present a modified coordinate-exchange algorithm to achieve this goal. Finally, we demonstrate the added value of our approach by comparing the optimal O 2 input profiles to several intuitive benchmark experiments.status: publishe