CFD modelling of convective falling films for enhanced algae cultivation : fluid mechanics influence of mass transfer
| dc.contributor.author | Lancaster, Gerald | |
| dc.contributor.author | Bock, Bradley D. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Craig, K.J. (Kenneth) | |
| dc.contributor.email | bradley.bock@up.ac.za | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-03-02T11:06:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-03-02T11:06:03Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-01-14 | |
| dc.description | DATA AVAILABILITY : Data are available on request. Paper was presented at 2025 SAIMechE Central Branch Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Related Disciplines (SCMERD 2025). | |
| dc.description.abstract | Falling film photobioreactors are able to increase the mass transfer rates per volume of liquid through the gas-liquid interface compared to other photobioreactor types. At low Reynolds numbers the flow mass transfer is still diffusion limited. This work aims to resolve and improve the convective mixing within thin falling films numerically to optimize the rates of CO2 absorption into a thin falling water film. Flat plate models are compared and it is found that slower films with a Reynolds number of 28 outperform faster flowing films by up to 2.5 times. | |
| dc.description.department | Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering | |
| dc.description.librarian | hj2026 | |
| dc.description.sdg | SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Support of the Royal Society International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) International Collaboration Awards. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Lancaster, G., Bock, B.D. & Craig, K.J. 2026, 'CFD modelling of convective falling films for enhanced algae cultivation : fluid mechanics influence of mass transfer', EPJ Web of Conferences, vol. 347, art. 01001, 11 pages, doi : 10.1051/epjconf/202634701001. | |
| dc.identifier.other | 10.1051/epjconf/202634701001 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108702 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | EDP Sciences | |
| dc.rights | © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2026. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. | |
| dc.subject | Microalgae | |
| dc.subject | CFD modelling | |
| dc.subject | Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) | |
| dc.subject | Photobioreactor (PBR) | |
| dc.title | CFD modelling of convective falling films for enhanced algae cultivation : fluid mechanics influence of mass transfer | |
| dc.type | Article |