CFD Optimization of a Plate Photobioreactor Used for Cultivation of Microalgae

Closed photobioreactors (with regard to the liquid) which are used for the monoseptic cultivation of microalgae can be optimized by modeling, concerning reactor geometry and processing. Exemplary for a Commercial plate photobioreactor (PBR 10) theoretical calculations of the flow were carried out with CFD (FLUENT) in order to characterize the existing system. These calculations were validated experimentally. An improvement of the reactor and plate geometry pertaining to the pressure loss (reduction by 70 %) as well as the light intake which proved to be limiting in physiological simulations can be shown. Furthermore, the flow geometry proposed reduces deposition and insufficient mixed zones, that reduce algal growth because of mass gradients. In addition, a mathematical approach of the turbulence enables a prediction of fluctuating light intensities of a single algal cell.