Fermentation Assessment Intelligence Napkin
Rapid commercial fermentation assessment.
FAINa is a lightweight, transparent screening tool for VC investors and founders. It estimates minimum break-even production scale, reactor count, and directional CAPEX from incomplete fermentation data.
No hidden assumptions. Every estimate is inspectable.
npm install
npm run devnpm run build
npm test- Create a repository named
faina. - Push this project to
main. - In Settings → Pages, select GitHub Actions as the source.
- The included workflow deploys the production build.
FAINa is a first-pass screen, not a substitute for process simulation, vendor quotations, detailed engineering, or investment diligence. It uses:
- deterministic mass and throughput calculations;
- capital scaling with an explicit exponent;
- capital-recovery-factor annualization;
- editable benchmark and heuristic ranges in
src/data/benchmarks.json; - visibly tagged user, derived, and benchmark values.
The model searches integer reactor counts and returns the first facility whose estimated annual revenue covers variable costs, fixed OPEX, maintenance, and annualized capital.
- NREL and DOE techno-economic analyses use process mass/energy balances, equipment scaling, installed costs, operating expenses, and discounted-cash-flow methods to derive minimum selling prices.
- Humbird et al., Aeration Costs in Stirred-Tank and Bubble Column Bioreactors (2017), provides public discussion of scale-dependent oxygen-delivery economics.
- U.S. EPA engineering cost documentation describes capacity-factor scaling and capital recovery factors.
The numerical benchmark file intentionally distinguishes public-methodology support from engineering heuristics. Replace heuristics with product-specific evidence before relying on an assessment.
- Scenario comparison ✓
- Benchmark explorer — v0.2
- Sensitivity analysis — v0.2
MIT