QUANTIFYING AIR-WATER GAS TRANSFER ENHANCEMENT FROM CAPILLARY-GRAVITY BOW WAVES AND STREAMWISE COUNTER-ROTATING VORTICES
Air-water gas transfer is critical in both environmental and industrial systems, including microalgae cultivation ponds. As interest in alternative fuels has grown amid global climate change, microalgae have emerged as a promising biofuel feedstock due to their high oil content and rapid growth rate. Productivity in algae raceway ponds, however, is often limited by the supply of dissolved CO2. This study investigates gas transfer enhancement by combining two flow structures: counter-rotating streamwise vortices (CRSVs) and capillary-gravity bow waves, as methods for improving CO2 delivery in raceway ponds. While previous research examined these mechanisms separately, we quantify their combined effects on gas transfer velocity. Results show a 10% increase in gas transfer velocity due to CRSVs alone, a 370% increase from bow waves alone, and a 400% increase when both are present. These findings suggest that coupling surface transfer from waves with full depth mixing from CRSVs can synergistically enhance gas exchange.