Hydrodynamic analysis of flow in raceway ponds for algae cultivation under versatile conditions
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Hydrodynamic analysis of flow in raceway ponds for algae cultivation under versatile conditions Adriano Lima1
´ · Barbara Marinho1 · Tiago Morais1
Received: 17 January 2020 / Accepted: 18 September 2020 / © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Open looped channels are an energy-efficient and low-cost solution often adopted for the cultivation of algae. These channels are commonly composed by two parallel straight channels interconnected by two curving sections and, as such, are referred as raceway ponds. The scaling up of algae production systems, usually associated with novel usages of algal products, has created new challenges for raceway-based cultivation systems. In particular, the uncertainties of cultivating novel algae cultures, e.g. macroalgae for which optimal inland cultivation conditions are still under-researched, impose further demands for raceway design and operation. Versatile operational conditions for raceways may be thus desirable for pioneering inland cultivation systems for certain species, applications and climate conditions. In this work, raceways of standard design are evaluated in terms of geometry, specifically raceway length, width and operational conditions, i.e. flow depth and operational velocity, with the use of a CFD tool. The hydrodynamic performance of the studied cases is analysed based on velocity uniformity and power consumption. Keywords Raceway flow · Algae production · Macroalgae · Hydrodynamic analysis
Introduction One approach to reduce operational costs of algae farms is to minimize the energy consumption associated to day-to-day operations without compromising the cultivation process. The main shares of energy consumption in such farms are usually attributed to the water uptake, through the use of pumping systems, and the water circulation within the cultivation tanks. In the latter, for ponds powered by paddle wheels, the energy consumption is directly related to the force imposed to the water to move it along the pond at a certain velocity magnitude. Raceway ponds where the circulating flow is powered by a single or a set of paddle wheels have been employed extensively for algae cultivation, aiming for sectors such as biomass
Adriano Lima
[email protected] 1
Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias 400, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal
Aquaculture International
fuel production, wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical industry and food industry. Raceway ponds typically consist of two parallel straight channels interconnected by two hairpin bends (Fig. 1), with water depths typically ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 m (Han et al. 2019). In the last 10 years, several studies have proposed amendments to this typical geometric configuration in order to reduce the zones of low flow velocities and improve the hydrodynamic performance of raceways, mostly by modifying the design of the central island (Sompech et al. 2012; Liffman et al. 2013; Hadiyanto et al. 2013) or by introducing flow deflectors either in the straight
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