Application of optimal control theory to bioremediation

In situ bioremediation is a remediation technology in which the indigenous subsurface bacteria are stimulated by injecting compounds to provide food and energy. The stimulated bacteria break down the target contaminants into less harmful substances. The way the compounds are injected is a crucial component of the technology. We use techniques from the theory of optimal control of distributed parameter systems to characterize an “optimal” injection function in a tube bioreactor. The state system, the set of equations that govern the evolution of bioremediation, is a “hybrid” system consisting of both partial and ordinary differential equations.