Abstract
The results of numerical simulations of gravitactic bioconvection influenced by nanoparticles suspended in water are analyzed. In this work, two cases are established which consider the removal of nanometric particles suspended in wastewater. The competence among the bioconvection of Paramecium caudatum, natural convection and buoyancy of nanoparticles phenomena in an aqueous suspension is presented. The position of a thermal source to control the orientation of microorganisms when swimming is analyzed. Numerical simulations are carried out using the finite difference method in an ADI scheme, employing stream-vorticity formulations and equations for microorganisms, nanoparticle concentration, and energy. The percentage of nanoparticles is considered using the Rayleigh number, which includes the effect of Brownian and thermophoretic parameters. At low values of the Brownian parameter δBm=0.1, thermophoretic parameter δTm=0.1, and the nanoparticles Rayleigh number 0.005