ITCE20090007A1 - LOW-COST INDUSTRIAL PHOTOBIOREACTOR, WITH HIGH PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND HIGH GASOUS ABSORPTION FOR MASSIVE MICRO-ALGAE OR GENERIC CULTURAL ORGANISMS UNICELLULAR PHOTOSYNTHETICS - Google Patents

Description

previous point 3.3).

the load-bearing support and containment structure of the culture chamber is made up of:

4.1 Four or more vertical supporting axles in metal material with low cost and high mechanical resistance, anchored to the ground or anchored to a support base, to which the longitudinal connection beams and the lower and upper support half-cylinders of the chamber will be connected of culture, described in detail below. The sections, profiles, lengths and number of supporting axes are determined by structural calculations of mechanical resistance to the weight of the culture cylinder, to any lateral mechanical stresses due to installations on windy areas, to mechanical interactions of connection with other photobioreactors side with which the large-scale industrial plant will be built and set up;

4.2 Longitudinal connection beams to the vertical support axes, made of low-cost metal material;

4.3 Semi-cylindrical support and lower containment structure (lower housing of the culture chamber) for supporting the culture cylinder. The structure is designed to support and contain the deformation or expansion of the culture cylinder when the latter is made of flexible or rigid material but with low mechanical resistance. The lower support is sized according to the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads of the culture cylinder contained, 4.4 Semi-cylindrical upper containment structure (upper containment of the culture chamber) of semi-cylindrical or semi-elliptical shape, integral or partial with respect to the culture cylinder. The upper containment half-cylinder is designed to prevent deformation or expansion of the culture cylinder when the latter is made of flexible or rigid material but with low mechanical resistance. The upper containment of the culture chamber is sized according to the mechanical expansion loads due to the angle "a", and can be integral or partial with respect to the culture chamber. If the culture cylinder is made of rigid material and of sufficient mechanical strength, the upper containment structure can be avoided.

The semi-cylindrical support and lower containment structure (lower housing of the culture chamber) consists of:

5.1 Mesh or sheet of metal or plastic material, transparent or reflective, rigid or deformable, which can be given a semicircular or semi-elliptical profile, so that the culture chamber takes the desired shape to maximize production efficiency. The mesh or the supporting plate can be partially or totally reflecting so as to increase and uniform, like a parabolic solar concentrator, the incident radiation throughout the crop volume;

so as to form a semi-cylindrical support with a semi-circular or semi-elliptical profile for supporting the culture chamber;

5.3 Only with the provisions of point 5.2), therefore only the semicircles or semi-ellipses of transversal connection and support, in cases where the culture chamber is rigid with sufficient mechanical strength and in general in all cases where the point is not necessary 5.1);

a semi-cylindrical upper containment structure (upper containment of the culture chamber) will consist of:

6.1 Mesh or plates of metal or plastic material, transparent or reflective, rigid or deformable, which can have the transverse shape of a semi-ellipse or a semicircle (so that the culture chamber is delimited at the top by the desired shape of semicircular or semi-elliptical type, evaluated form and purposely intended to maximize production efficiency);

6.2 Semicircles or semi-ellipses for transversal connection and containment, anchored to the longitudinal connection beams by means of a rotating or generally movable or extractable connection, spaced longitudinally from each other so as to form a containment higher than the culture chamber with a semicircular or semi-elliptical profile. The rotary or generally movable or extractable connection of the semicircles or semi-ellipses to the longitudinal beams, is functional to the opening of the upper containment semicylinder in the event of any maintenance or replacement of the culture chamber; culture chamber is rigid with sufficient mechanical strength and in general in all cases where point 6.1) is not necessary;

a semi-cylindrical structure for the upper containment of the culture chamber can be:

7.1 Fixed, by means of permanent anchoring to the supporting structure;

7.2 Removable, by means of removable anchors that allow, in case of need, to remove the upper containment structure (eg in the case of maintenance interventions, replacement of the culture cylinder / etc.);

7.3 Openable. by means of self-moving rotary anchors fixed to the supporting structure. In this case, the upper containment structure can be opened as a casket in case of need (eg in the case of maintenance / replacement of the culture cylinder / etc.). insufflation system of the gaseous mixtures in the culture chamber of the tobioreactor can consist of:

8.1 Innovative insufflation system object of an independent patent application patent application (W CE2009A000004) filed on 03/06/2009 entitled: "Insufflation system capable of guaranteeing efficient temperature control, widespread mixing and high absorption of C02 and other gases in cultures of microalgae or other photosynthetic microorganisms "

"Classic" insufflation system, consisting of the following possibilities: • One or more tubes, rigid or flexible, in plastic or metal, immersed in the culture chamber, with open ends, inserted from top to bottom through the top closure and ending with the open ends on the bottom of the culture chamber or at different heights of the culture evaluated to obtain an optimal mixing and insufflation of the gaseous mixture

• One or more openings made on the bottom cap of the culture chamber, of circular section, with dimensions ranging from 0.5 cm to 50 cm, in suitable positions to optimize the mixing of the culture, connected to the gas injection system by means of cylindrical manifolds and / or conicals of suitable length and any connection systems and / or valves. • One or more tubes, rigid or flexible, of plastic or metal material, immersed in the culture chamber, drilled along their length with holes from 2 mm to 20 mm, inserted into the culture chamber through the plant area of the top cap and / or lower

8.3 An appropriate combination of the two insufflation systems described in points 8.1 and 8.2.

The photobioreactor described in this patent filing provides monitoring and control systems for the chemical and physical parameters of the crop including pH, salinity, biomass growth level, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, absorption degree of blown gases, etc., with sensor and plant interfaces provided in the lower and / or upper caps. These systems are part of the so-called "plant engineering" area that is easily accessible by workers and technicians for assembly, maintenance and replacement.

The invention constitutes the basic module for the construction of industrial plants which can occupy even very large surfaces. In particular, the industrial plant is composed of:

9.1 N "rows" of photobioreactors placed side by side in parallel position, oriented according to the same "a" and "W 'angles;

9.2 The "rows" of photobioreactors are arranged in parallel and spaced apart by a space <"D> based on the terrestrial latitude and longitude of the installation site, in order to minimize the shading between parallel rows and therefore maximize solar radiation accident on the entire industrial plant. The dimensions of the single photobioreactor are:

10.1 Length of the culture cylinder between 2 m and 10 m;

10.2 Diameter of the cylinder (diameter of the circular cross section or equivalent diameter in the case of an elliptical cross section), between 200 mm and 1500 mm;

10.3 Volume of the culture module up to 15000 L.

The innovative photobioreactor is better understood from the attached figures, which represent a simplified but non-limiting example of the invention itself:

Fig 1.1: angle of inclination a;

Fig 1.2: direction angle ~;

Fig 2.1: Fully closed photobioreactor;

Fig 2.2,3.1 and 3.2: details of the fully open photobioreactor;

Fig 4.1 and 4.2: Organization of the industrial plant with the arrangement of "M" rows of "N" adjacent and parallel photobioreactors, rows spaced by a space "D" from each other.

Specifically, it is indicated by:

[2] Angle of inclination with respect to the horizontal plane

[2] Angle of inclination with respect to the south direction

~ Supporting Structure

oo Culture Cylinder

Bottom Cap

GJ Top Cap

G Semi-cylindrical Upper containment structure

Semi-cylindrical structure for support and lower containment

Claims (3)

generic photosynthetics consisting of 1.1) A culture chamber that houses the liquid containing unicellular photosynthetic organisms 1.2) A load-bearing support and containment structure that houses and supports the culture chamber 1.3) A gas insufflation system that mixes and controls the temperature of the liquid inside the culture chamber, and provides for the injection of the gases to be absorbed into the photobioreactor 1.4) A plant area for monitoring, control, automation and maintenance of the photobioreactor The culture chamber referred to in point 1.1) has a basically cylindrical structure with a circular or elliptical section orthogonal to the cylinder axis (intersection of the plane orthogonal to the cylinder axis with the cylinder itself), with a large transverse diameter (from 200 to 1500 mm), intended as the diameter of the transverse circle or equivalent diameter of the transverse ellipse;. The culture chamber referred to in points 1.1) and 2) forms an angle "a" with respect to the horizontal plane which varies according to the characteristics of the installation site of the photobioreactor and the complete industrial plant (terrestrial latitude and longitude, presence of shadows, etc.), and from the optimization of the area occupation. The culture chamber referred to in points 1.1), 2), 3) forms a variable angle "w 'according to the characteristics of the installation site of the culture chamber referred to in points 1.1), 2), 3), 4) consisting of: 5.1) A cylinder with a helical or circular section: "Culture cylinder" 5.2) A lower closing disc: "Bottom Cap" 5.3) An upper closing disc: "Top cap". The "Culture cylinder", the "Bottom cap" and the "Top cap", referred to in points 5.1), 5.2), 5.3) make the culture chamber delimited and inaccessible to external contaminants. The culture chamber is made of low-cost transparent, translucent or slightly opaque, colored or reflective material, with a rate of transparency to the light radiation suitable for favoring the absorption of light radiation to the algal culture and to reduce the effects of photoinhibition, with low porosity and roughness of the internal surface to reduce the effects of Biofuling and facilitate the procedure of periodic washing of the photobioreactor. The "Culture Cylinder" referred to in point 5.1) can be made in the following ways: 7.1) A film or plate of transparent, translucent or slightly opaque, colored or reflective, flexible material, wound on itself and welded at the ends so as to form a chamber with a cylindrical or elliptical section. The film or plate of flexible material will have a thickness from a few microns up to thicknesses of 6 mm; 7.2) A cylinder of rigid plastic material, with circular or helical section, transparent, translucent or slightly opaque, colored or reflective, with a thickness from a few microns up to 20 mm, built with extrusion techniques, centrifugation, with compressed air techniques or with other techniques that guarantee low cost construction; 7.3) A "bag" of transparent, translucent or slightly opaque, colored or reflective plastic, with a thickness from a few microns up to 2 mm. 8) The material that can be used for the culture cylinder referred to in point 7) is transparent, translucent or slightly opaque, colored or reflective, of type PE, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PMMA, PMA, PUR, PVC or innovative materials, in flexible form (as per point 7.1.), rigid (as per point 7.2), or in the form of "envelopes" (as per point 7.3). 9) The thickness of the rigid or flexible material that constitutes the culture cylinder referred to in point 8) will depend on the hydraulic load of the volume of water contained in the culture chamber, on the mechanical resistance of the material, on the containment and support structure of the chamber of culture and from the inclination "a". 10) The lower closing discs ('' Lower cap ") and upper closing discs ('' Upper cap"), referred to in points 5.2) and 5.3), delimit the culture cylinder at the ends and close the culture chamber making it isolated from external agents and avoiding contamination of the crop itself. The discs are designed and manufactured according to the hydrodynamic load of the culture chamber with a variable thickness from 6 cm to 30 cm, and can be hollow, solid, partially or fully accessible, with single or multiple bottom, and accommodate the monitoring systems , control and automation of the Photobioreactor. composite, with circular or elliptical transverse profile suitable for the shape of the culture cylinder; 11.2) is provided with a culture chamber anchoring flange to which the culture chamber will be clamped and connected; 11.3) houses the plants for washing, loading and unloading the cultivation medium and biomass, sensors, C02 and other gas insufflation systems, and any other system necessary for the correct functioning of the bioreactor; 11.4) houses the monitoring, control and automation systems of the Photobioreactor 11.5) is easily accessible to workers and technicians for maintenance and replacement of the systems referred to in points 11.3), 11.4) and for replacement or repairs of the culture chamber if damaged. III / upper capel / referred to in points 5.3), 10) has the following characteristics: 12.1) it is made of rigid or flexible plastic, metal or composite material, with a circular or elliptical transverse profile suitable for the shape of the culture chamber; 12.2) is provided with a culture chamber anchoring flange to which the culture chamber will be clamped and connected; 12.3) houses the plants for washing, loading and unloading the cultivation medium and biomass, sensors, C02 and other gas insufflation systems, and any other system necessary for the correct functioning of the bioreactor; 12.5) is easily accessible to workers and technicians for maintenance and replacement of the systems referred to in points 12.3), 12.4) and for replacement or repairs of the culture chamber if damaged. ) The load-bearing support and containment structure of the culture chamber referred to in point consists of: 13.1) Four or more vertical supporting axes made of metal or plastic material, and in general of low cost and high mechanical strength material, anchored to the ground or anchored to a support base, to which the longitudinal connection beams and the lower and upper support and containment half-cylinders of the culture chamber, as per points 13.2), 13.3), 13.4). The sections, profiles and lengths of the supporting axes are designed and dimensioned through structural calculations of mechanical resistance to the weight of the culture chamber, any lateral mechanical stresses due to installations on windy areas, mechanical interactions of connection with the other lateral photobioreactors with which the large-scale industrial plant will be built and set up; 13.2) Longitudinal connection beams to the vertical support axes, made of low-cost metal material; 13.3) Semi-cylindrical support and lower containment structure (lower housing of the culture chamber) for supporting the culture chamber. The structure is designed to support and contain the deformation or expansion of the culture cylinder when the latter is made of flexible or rigid material but with low mechanical resistance. The lower support is sized according to the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads of the culture cylinder contained, and to the mechanical expansion loads of the culture chamber, correlated to the angle "a" of inclination. 13.4) Semi-cylindrical upper containment structure (upper containment of the culture chamber) of semi-cylindrical or semi-elliptical shape, integral or partial with respect to the culture cylinder, fixed, removable or opening. The upper containment half-cylinder is designed to prevent deformation or expansion of the culture cylinder when the latter is made of flexible or rigid material but with low mechanical resistance. The upper containment of the culture chamber is sized according to the mechanical expansion loads due to the angle "a", and can be integral or partial with respect to the culture chamber. If the culture cylinder is made of rigid material and of sufficient mechanical strength, the upper containment structure can be avoided. 14) The semi-cylindrical support and lower containment structure of the culture chamber referred to in point 13.3) consists of: 14.1) Mesh or sheet of metal or plastic material, transparent or reflective, rigid or deformable, which can be given the shape of a semi-ellipse or a semicircle (so that the culture chamber takes the shape of the underlying support base, shape evaluated and purposely intended to maximize production efficiency); 14.2) Semicircles or semi-ellipses for transversal connection and support, anchored to the longitudinal connection beams, spaced longitudinally from each other so as to form a semi-cylindrical support with a semicircular or semi-elliptical profile to support the culture chamber; 14.3) Only what is described in point 14.2), therefore only the semicircles or semi-ellipses of transversal connection and support, in cases where the culture chamber is rigid with sufficient mechanical strength and in general in all cases where the point is not necessary 14.1); 15) The semi-cylindrical upper containment structure referred to in point 13.4) will consist of: 15.1) Mesh or sheets of transparent, translucent or opaque, colored or reflective metallic or plastic material, of semi-cylindrical shape with semi-circular or semi-elliptical cross-section (so that the culture chamber is delimited at the top by the desired shape of semi-circular or semi-elliptical type, shape purposely evaluated and desired to maximize production efficiency); 15.2) Semicircles or semi-ellipses for transversal connection and containment, anchored to the longitudinal connection beams, spaced longitudinally from each other so as to form a containment higher than the culture chamber with a semicircular or semi-elliptical profile; 15.3) Only what is described in point 15.2), therefore only the support semicircles and transversal connection, in cases where the 6) The upper containment semi-cylindrical structure can be fixed, removable or openable: 16.1) Fixed permanently to the supporting structure; 16. 2) Removable by means of removable anchors that allow, in case of need, to remove the upper containment structure (eg in the case of maintenance interventions, replacement of the culture cylinder, etc.); 16.3) Openable by means of self-moving rotary anchors fixed to the bearing structure. In this case, the upper containment structure can be opened as a casket in case of need (e.g. in the case of maintenance interventions, replacement of the culture cylinder, etc.) 7) The system of insufflation of the gaseous mixtures in the The culture chamber of the photobioreactor can consist of: 17.1) Innovative insufflation system object of an independent patent application (W CE2009A000004) filed on 03/06/2009 entitled: "Insufflation system capable of guaranteeing efficient temperature control, widespread mixing and high absorption of C02 and other gases in cultures of microalgae or other photosynthetic microorganisms " sema nsu azone cassco, cos u o a and following possibilities: • One or more tubes, rigid or flexible, in plastic or metal material, immersed in the culture chamber, with open end ends, inserted from top to bottom through the top closure cap and ending with the end open on the bottom of the culture chamber or at different heights of the culture evaluated to obtain an optimal mixing and insufflation of the gaseous mixture; • One or more openings made on the lower cap of the culture chamber, of circular section, with dimensions ranging from 0.5 cm to 50 cm, in suitable positions to optimize the stirring of the crop, connected to the gas injection system by means of manifolds cylindrical and / or conical of suitable length and any connection systems and / or valves; • One or more tubes, rigid or flexible, of plastic or metal material, immersed in the culture chamber, drilled along their length with holes from 2 mm to 20 mm, inserted into the culture chamber through the plant area of the top cap and / or lower. A suitable combination of the two insufflation systems described in points 17.1) and 17.2). 18) The photobioreactor object of this patent provides for monitoring and control systems of the chemical and physical parameters of the crop including pH, salinity, growth level of the bio mass, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, degree of absorption of the blown gases, etc .. , with plant interfaces provided in the lower and / or upper caps. These systems are part of the so-called "plant engineering" area that is easily accessible by workers and technicians for assembly, maintenance and replacement. 19) The photobioreactor in question constitutes the basic module for the construction of industrial plants that can occupy even very large surfaces. In particular, the industrial plant is composed of: 19.1) "N" photobioreactor rows side by side in parallel position, inclined by the same angle "a", and oriented by an angle "W" with respect to the direction of the South; 19.2) "M" parallel columns of photobioreactors, oriented according to the same directing angle "W 'with respect to the south and separated by a distance" D "; 19. 3) The industrial plant is composed of photobioreactors arranged in "N" rows and "M" columns, distributed in such a way as to cover the area of interest. The space "D" between the parallel rows referred to in point 19.1) is calculated on the basis of the terrestrial latitude and longitude of the installation site, in order to minimize the shading between parallel rows and therefore maximize the solar radiation incident on the entire industrial plant , and based on area occupancy maximization considerations.