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Concentration of Spirulina Suspensions by Radial Migration with Flow Through Vertical Tees
Author(s) -
Rakow Allen L.,
Fernald Daniel
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
biotechnology progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6033
pISSN - 8756-7938
DOI - 10.1021/bp00010a600
Subject(s) - laminar flow , inlet , reynolds number , tube (container) , suspension (topology) , flow (mathematics) , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , chromatography , mechanics , physics , geology , mathematics , composite material , turbulence , geomorphology , homotopy , pure mathematics
Abstract Suspensions of Spirulina platensis , a microalga, were pumped in laminar flow through vertical tubes. Reynolds numbers in the high end of the laminar regime were maintained along with sufficient length of tube in most cases to allow the particles to migrate to a region close to the tube axis. An equidiameter tee‐branch was employed to direct the dilute outer region of the flow through the branches while the central region of concentrated particles flowed on through the main channel. A 0.01 % dry mass (DM) suspension can be concentrated 100‐fold in a 650‐μm diameter system to approximately 1 % DM in the equivalent of 6 passes (the upper limit of concentration on the basis of a rod exclusion model is about 2.5% DM). The concentration factor decreases exponentially with inlet concentration ranging from a value near 3 at low inlet concentration to a value near 1 at the highest concentration tested to date.