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Effect of Inlet Type on Shear Stress and Mixing in an Annular Photobioreactor Involving a Swirling Decaying Flow
Author(s) -
Pruvost Jérémy,
Legrand Jack,
Legentilhomme Patrick,
MullerFeuga Arnaud
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450820310
Subject(s) - photobioreactor , inlet , mechanics , mixing (physics) , reynolds number , shear stress , flow (mathematics) , reynolds stress , materials science , turbulence , physics , engineering , mechanical engineering , waste management , quantum mechanics , biofuel
Improvement of mixing can lead to an enhancement of photobioreactors productivity, provided that the adverse effect of shear forces is kept below the fragility‐ threshold of cells. Implementation of a swirling decaying flow induced by a tangential inlet in an annular photobioreactor was investigated. The study focused on a compromise solution between the mixing and the resulting shear stress, and various hydrodynamical characteristics were measured for five types of tangential inlets and three Reynolds number values. Comparison with a pseudo‐axial flow induced by a radial inlet indicates that swirling flows are suitable in the particular application of microalgal cultures.