A novel flat plate algal bioreactor with horizontal baffles: Structural optimization and cultivation performance
Abstract
A novel flat plate photobioreactor with horizontal baffles was developed. The effects of aeration intensity and aeration site were investigated using computational fluid dynamics. The effects of baffle structural parameters, including the ratio of clearance between the baffle and the bioreactor wall (d) to bioreactor width (D) and the ratio of distance between two adjacent baffles (h) to D on the flow and mixing performance were assessed. A good light/dark cycle and strong, uniform mixing performance were created at d/D=0.5 and h/D=1 when the aeration site was located at the bottom center. The cultivation performance was assessed by culturing Chlorella vulgaris 31. The maximum biomass productivity in the optimized bioreactor was 1.88 times than that of a traditional bioreactor without baffles. For a light path length of 80 mm, the optimized baffles offer a large economical advantage in improving algal productivity and reduce growth condition difference.
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The majority of gas-liquid flows in photobioreactor CFD models are modeled in the Eulerian-Eulerian formulation, as two interpenetrating continua.
“According to Table 1, the majority of gas-liquid flows is modeled in the EulerianEulerian formulation [18,25-27,29-31,39-42,45,125,135,136], thus, as two interpenetrating continua.”
From Modeling and Simulation of Photobioreactors with Computational Fluid Dynamics—A Comprehensive Review (2022) · cites this paper as [40]
The literature includes models for two-phase gas-liquid flows, solid-liquid flows, or three-phase gas-solid-liquid flows.
“The literature includes models for two-phase gasliquid flows [17-19,25,39-42,44,45,125,135], solid-liquid flows [21,23,24,34,36-38,126] or three-phase gas-solid-liquid flows [19,26-31,136].”
From Modeling and Simulation of Photobioreactors with Computational Fluid Dynamics—A Comprehensive Review (2022) · cites this paper as [40]
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- Authors
- Wang, L.-L., Tao, Y., & Mao, X.-Z.
- Affiliations
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Mao, Xian-zhong
- Venue
- Bioresource Technology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-07
- Volume
- 164
- Pages
- 20-27
- ISSN
- 0960-8524 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2058556534
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 2.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Bioresource Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Fluid Dynamics and Mixing
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Keywords
- flat panel photobioreactor, horizontal baffles, aeration intensity, mixing performance, flow distribution, Chlorella vulgaris, algal biomass productivity, light-dark cycle, computational fluid dynamics
- MeSH terms
- Aerobiosis, Chlorella, Models, Theoretical, Rheology, Reproducibility of Results, Cell Culture Techniques, Photobioreactors
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