AM2 model with a series configuration of interconnected chemostats and distinct removal rates

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of the AM2 model in a serial configuration of two interconnected chemostats with distinct dilution rates. The system is described by nonlinear differential equations, for which the usual reduction from an eight-dimensional system to a four-dimensional one is no longer possible due to the distinct dilution rates. We provide a complete qualitative study by characterizing all steady states and establishing necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence, multiplicity, and local stability of nine types of equilibria, expressed in terms of key operating parameters. We show that coexistence equilibria involving two species in the second bioreactor are not always stable, even when they exist, and require an additional condition related to the trace of the Jacobian matrix. Identifying parameter sets leading to Hopf bifurcations and limit cycles remains an open problem. These results provide new insights into the dynamics of interconnected bioreactors and motivate further investigations on oscillatory behaviors.