Abstract
A parallel spiral-flow column photobioreactor (PSCP) composed of eight spiral-flow columns, and two pipe headers was designed for scale-up cultivation of microalgae to capture CO2. To solve the disturbance of spiral flow fields among parallel columns, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was used to optimize the main structural parameters, such as the number and the height of microalgae solution outlet (MSO), to improve flow field structure and enhance the cells' light/dark cycle. The horizontal velocity in the direction of optical path and the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) reached the peak values of 0.214 m/s and 5.28 m2/s2 when MSO number was four and MSO height was 1.05 m. Meanwhile, the disturbance of the spiral flow field among parallel columns are minimum, and microalgae light/dark cycle frequency was 33.3% higher than that of conventional bubble column photobioreactor. Therefore, the biomass yield and CO2 fixation rate of microalgae increased by 81.5% and 100.5%, respectively.
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