Experimental and numerical investigations of mixing in raceway ponds for algae cultivation

The results of the simulation showed that a limited mixing is to be expected in RWPs. In the long straight parts of the pond vertical mixing is poor and algae tend to settle to the bottom. Only in the bends the vortexes produced by flow separation move part of the culture from the bottom to the top and vice-versa. This result does not fit with the practice, typically observed in large scale ponds, of reducing vortexes around the bends by placing baffles. The method described can be applied to different pond designs operated at different culture velocities.