Optimal management of open-channel raceway ponds for cultivation of algal biomass intended for bioenergy production

TL;DR

This paper develops a novel optimal control methodology for maximizing algal biomass productivity in open-channel raceway ponds, integrating detailed mathematical modeling, solution existence proof, and numerical optimization for bioenergy applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new optimal control framework for raceway pond management, including mathematical formulation, proof of solution existence, and a numerical algorithm for realistic scenarios.

Findings

Proved the existence of optimal solutions for the control problem.

Developed a numerical algorithm for optimizing algal productivity.

Demonstrated the approach with realistic case studies.

Abstract

In this work we present a novel methodology to deal with the optimal performance of raceways (open-channel ponds where the circulating wastewater, during its purification process, is used to grow algae that will be used as a source for the production of bioenergy). The maximization of algal productivity is addressed here within an optimal control framework for partial differential equations. Thus, after introducing a rigorously detailed mathematical formulation of the real-world control problem, we prove the existence of optimal solutions, we propose a numerical algorithm for its computational resolution and, finally, we show some results for the numerical optimization of a realistic case.