Cornell University
Library
Cornell UniversityLibrary

eCommons

Help
Log In(current)
  1. Home
  2. Cornell University Graduate School
  3. Cornell Theses and Dissertations
  4. Simulation Of Hollow Fibre Membranes Photobioreactor

Simulation Of Hollow Fibre Membranes Photobioreactor

File(s)
cf354.pdf (2.53 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/37034
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Fu, Cheng
Abstract

Microalgae fix inorganic carbon (CO2) into biomass that can be used as biofuels through photosynthesis. In microalgae-based photobioreactors, the poor distribution of light and CO2 source often limit the production. A promising solution for these problems is applying light waveguides to deliver the light uniformly and introducing hollow fibre membranes (HFMs) which can increase the interfacial contact area for gas transfer. There are several parameters that have impact on the efficiency of HFM reactor, such as light, temperature, gas velocity in fibre, inlet concentration of CO2, and distance between HFM arrays. Our research goal is using simulation methods to test those parameters, make predictions and help to simplify further experiments. The numerical model we used to approach the microorganisms in photobioreactors system, Monod equation model, has several empirical coefficients which need to be determined by experiments. Our group members have done the experiment testing how the fibre distance influences the algae growth. We redid the experiment on computer using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3b, and the result matched well, which verified the reliability of the simulation model. Then we tested the effect of inlet concentration of CO2 and the gas velocity.

Date Issued
2014-08-18
Committee Chair
Erickson, David
Committee Member
Lindau, Manfred
Degree Discipline
Applied Physics
Degree Name
M.S., Applied Physics
Degree Level
Master of Science
Type
dissertation or thesis

Site Statistics | Help

About eCommons | Policies | Terms of use | Contact Us

copyright © 2002-2026 Cornell University Library | Privacy | Web Accessibility Assistance