Development of a novel multi-column airlift photobioreactor with easy scalability by means of computational fluid dynamics simulations and experiments

Aiming to culture algae with high efficiency, a novel vertical multi-column airlift photobioreactor (VMAPBR) has been developed. It was constructed with a series of vertically arranged parallel columns with easy scalability. The hydrodynamic, irradiation and shear stress characteristics of the photobioreactor were studied by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Accordingly, the optimal aeration manner and aeration rate were determined. When the...