Microalgae based biofuel is an emerging natural source of energy alternative to the fossil fuel. As microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms, light is one of the limiting factors for its culture. Though many resea...Microalgae based biofuel is an emerging natural source of energy alternative to the fossil fuel. As microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms, light is one of the limiting factors for its culture. Though many researches have been carried out for findings behind suitable culture system for the proper growth of microalgae, those are confined only to tubular Photo-bioreactor (PBR). This paper aims to make comparison among the horizontal loop photo bioreactors with different cross sections based on the analysis of hydrodynamics behavior. Three different geometrical shapes having vertical cross sections of circular, square and hexagonal PBR, have been proposed taking into account light intensity for microalgae culture. In this study, we simulate the flow dynamics of three types of PBRs and discuss the velocity, pressure and shear stress properties as microalgae endurance capacity depends on them. For the dimension of the three PBRs we considered here, each of them have radius of about 0.05 m while the length together with bending portion is approximately 20.5 m for a single loop. From the study, the hydrodynamic behaviors are observed to be quite dissimilar in case of three PBR’s. In the straight portion the velocity profile is quite parabolic in tubular but distorted minimally in case of square and hexagonal PBRs. In the middle of the U-loop, a haphazard fluid distribution is noticed. The velocity magnitude and agitation of microalgae cells are higher in hexagonal than in square and tubular. The shear rate is less in case of tubular compared to square and hexagonal. A linear pressure drop is found from the inlet to the outlet for three PBR’s. From this comparison, it can be said that the tubular one would be the best option for microalgae culture in case of industrial purposes.展开更多
In microalgae based biofuel technology, the light is one of the important factors for the proper growth of microalgae cells as microalgae is a photosynthetic microorganism. For a large scale outdoor culture the irradi...In microalgae based biofuel technology, the light is one of the important factors for the proper growth of microalgae cells as microalgae is a photosynthetic microorganism. For a large scale outdoor culture the irradiance of sunlight and associated temperature is also need to consider. In this study aims to present computational model of microalgae growth taking effect of solar irradiance and corresponding temperature in a tubular photo bioreactor for an outdoor culture system. We consider the transient behavior of temperature inside the photo bioreactor for a microalgae culture. The optimum range of temperature for outdoor cultivation of microalgae is about 22℃ - 27℃ and out of this range the microalgae cell growth inhibits. Many correlations have already been established to investigate the algal productivity based on the dynamic conditions of temperature in case of full scale outdoor cultivation. However, none of them are validated yet numerically considering the model as a function of weather conditions, operational behavior and design criteria. A tubular photobioreactor (PBR) with length 20.5 m and radius 0.05 m has taken account as a simulation model. The PBR is horizontally placed as temperature variations can be observed with greater accuracy. As the solar irradiance varies at any geographic latitude for a year and so thus temperature, equations and parameters are established relating the irradiance with the temperature to simulate the effect. We observed some significant effects of temperature on the growth of microalgae. Moreover, for the maximum growth of the cells we should control the surrounding temperature.展开更多
文摘Microalgae based biofuel is an emerging natural source of energy alternative to the fossil fuel. As microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms, light is one of the limiting factors for its culture. Though many researches have been carried out for findings behind suitable culture system for the proper growth of microalgae, those are confined only to tubular Photo-bioreactor (PBR). This paper aims to make comparison among the horizontal loop photo bioreactors with different cross sections based on the analysis of hydrodynamics behavior. Three different geometrical shapes having vertical cross sections of circular, square and hexagonal PBR, have been proposed taking into account light intensity for microalgae culture. In this study, we simulate the flow dynamics of three types of PBRs and discuss the velocity, pressure and shear stress properties as microalgae endurance capacity depends on them. For the dimension of the three PBRs we considered here, each of them have radius of about 0.05 m while the length together with bending portion is approximately 20.5 m for a single loop. From the study, the hydrodynamic behaviors are observed to be quite dissimilar in case of three PBR’s. In the straight portion the velocity profile is quite parabolic in tubular but distorted minimally in case of square and hexagonal PBRs. In the middle of the U-loop, a haphazard fluid distribution is noticed. The velocity magnitude and agitation of microalgae cells are higher in hexagonal than in square and tubular. The shear rate is less in case of tubular compared to square and hexagonal. A linear pressure drop is found from the inlet to the outlet for three PBR’s. From this comparison, it can be said that the tubular one would be the best option for microalgae culture in case of industrial purposes.
文摘In microalgae based biofuel technology, the light is one of the important factors for the proper growth of microalgae cells as microalgae is a photosynthetic microorganism. For a large scale outdoor culture the irradiance of sunlight and associated temperature is also need to consider. In this study aims to present computational model of microalgae growth taking effect of solar irradiance and corresponding temperature in a tubular photo bioreactor for an outdoor culture system. We consider the transient behavior of temperature inside the photo bioreactor for a microalgae culture. The optimum range of temperature for outdoor cultivation of microalgae is about 22℃ - 27℃ and out of this range the microalgae cell growth inhibits. Many correlations have already been established to investigate the algal productivity based on the dynamic conditions of temperature in case of full scale outdoor cultivation. However, none of them are validated yet numerically considering the model as a function of weather conditions, operational behavior and design criteria. A tubular photobioreactor (PBR) with length 20.5 m and radius 0.05 m has taken account as a simulation model. The PBR is horizontally placed as temperature variations can be observed with greater accuracy. As the solar irradiance varies at any geographic latitude for a year and so thus temperature, equations and parameters are established relating the irradiance with the temperature to simulate the effect. We observed some significant effects of temperature on the growth of microalgae. Moreover, for the maximum growth of the cells we should control the surrounding temperature.
