JP2019097452A - Culture apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform efficient culture of algae while suppressing the running cost.SOLUTION: A culture apparatus has a solar cell 20 that is disposed over a culture tank 10 outdoor, and allows visible light to pass through but absorbs ultraviolet light to generate power, and an LED illumination 30 that irradiates the culture tank 10 with light using the solar cell 20 as a power supply.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a culture apparatus, and more particularly to a culture apparatus suitable for cultivating algae for photosynthesis.

  BACKGROUND ART In recent years, in algae which are attracting attention as materials for biomass fuels and foods, culture is actively performed in large-scale plants. In a culture tank installed outdoors, photosynthesis of algae is performed using sunlight, but it is difficult to secure a sufficient amount of light, and growth may be delayed in some cases. For this reason, in some plants, a method of using both sunlight and artificial light has been proposed. According to such a culture method, the amount of light can be compensated by artificial light, so that efficient culture can be performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-6-90735

  However, Patent Document 1 describes that the artificial light is irradiated using nighttime surplus power, but it is not necessarily preferable in consideration of the running cost as long as an external power supply is used.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a culture apparatus capable of performing efficient culture of algae while suppressing the running cost in view of the above-mentioned situation.

  In order to achieve the above object, a culture apparatus according to the present invention is disposed outdoors in the upper area of a culture tank outdoors, transmits visible light, and absorbs ultraviolet light to generate electric power, and the solar cell It is characterized by having provided with the illumination means which light-irradiates the said culture tank as a power supply.

  In the culture apparatus described above, the present invention is characterized in that the solar cell transmits infrared light.

  In the culture apparatus described above, the present invention is characterized in that the solar cell absorbs infrared light to perform power generation.

  In the culture apparatus described above, the present invention further includes a light collector provided outside the installation area of the culture tank, and an irradiation unit for guiding the sunlight collected by the light collector to the culture tank and irradiating the culture tank. It is characterized by

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned culture apparatus, the irradiation means includes a spectral part which irradiates visible light to the culture tank and irradiates ultraviolet light to a solar cell.

  According to the present invention, among sunlight emitted to the culture vessel, photosynthesis of algae is enabled by visible light transmitted through the solar cell, and the culture vessel is irradiated with light by using the solar cell generated by ultraviolet light as a power source. Is done. For this reason, it is possible to culture algae efficiently without increasing the running cost even in a limited space.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view conceptually showing a culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view conceptually showing an algae large-scale culture plant to which the culture apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is applied. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the culture plant shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the culture apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

  FIG. 1 conceptually shows a culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The culture apparatus 1 exemplified herein is for culturing microalgae in a culture tank 10 installed outdoors in a cold area, and includes a solar cell 20 and an LED lighting (lighting means) 30. The culture tank 10 is in the form of a rectangular box whose upper surface is open, in which microalgae and a culture solution necessary for culture are stored. The solar cell 20 is a transparent one that transmits visible light and infrared light while absorbing ultraviolet light to generate electric power, and is disposed in the upper region of the culture tank 10. In the present embodiment, a rectangular frame 41 is formed between four columns 40 standing around the culture tank 10, and the solar cell 20 is laid on almost the entire surface of the frame 41. There is. A gap set in advance is secured between the solar cell 20 and the upper surface of the culture tank 10. As apparent from the figure, the solar cell 20 has vertical and horizontal dimensions larger than that of the culture tank 10, and is provided so as to cover the entire top surface of the culture tank 10. The LED lighting 30 uses the solar cell 20 as a power source to perform light irradiation including a spectrum required for photosynthesis of microalgae. In the present embodiment, the linear LED lighting 30 is configured by juxtaposing a large number of LEDs in parallel with each other between the two pillars 40 at a location above the culture tank 10.

  In the culture apparatus 1 configured as described above, when sunlight is irradiated, visible light and infrared light of the solar light pass through the solar cell 20 and reach the culture tank 10. Here, the absorption wavelength of chlorophyll a, which is a typical pigment of microalgae, is mainly a red portion of visible light. Therefore, although the solar cell 20 is disposed in the upper region of the culture tank 10, the algae can perform photosynthesis by the transmitted visible light. Moreover, in the solar cell 20, power generation is performed by the absorbed ultraviolet light, so the LED lighting 30 can be lit without using an external power supply. Therefore, in the culture tank 10, photosynthesis is performed not only by visible light transmitted through the solar cell 20 but also by light irradiation from the LED illumination 30, and efficient culture can be performed while suppressing the running cost. It becomes. In addition, the solar cell 20 of this embodiment transmits infrared light. Therefore, in the culture apparatus 1, since the culture tank 10 is irradiated with infrared light, the culture tank 10 can be maintained at a desired temperature without requiring an external power source, and even in cold regions, microalgae Culture can be performed efficiently.

  In the embodiment described above, although the solar cell 20 which transmits infrared light is applied, the solar cell 20 does not necessarily transmit infrared light. For example, if the installation location of the culture apparatus 1 is outdoors in a warm area, it is easy to maintain the culture vessel 10 at a desired temperature without irradiating the culture vessel 10 with infrared light, so ultraviolet light and infrared light are used. What absorbs electricity more efficiently may be applied.

  FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 conceptually show a large scale culture plant in which a plurality of the culture apparatuses 1 described above are installed. In addition to the culture apparatus 1, this large-scale culture plant is provided with incidental equipment 50 such as a water treatment apparatus and a recovery apparatus. In the example of FIG. 3, although the two culture apparatuses 1 are provided in the part which occupies about 50 percent of a site, incidental equipment 50 occupies the remaining about 50 percent. In the present embodiment, the condenser 60 is disposed to cover the outside of the installation area of the culture tank 10, that is, the upper area of the incidental facility 50, and an optical fiber (irradiation means) from the condenser 60 toward the culture apparatus 1. 61 is installed, and the sunlight collected by the light collector 60 is led to the culture apparatus 1 to be irradiated. A spectroscope 62 may be interposed in the path of the optical fiber 61 so that only the visible light and the infrared light are irradiated to the culture apparatus 1. The ultraviolet light decomposed by the spectroscope 62 can be generated by irradiating the solar cell 20. In addition, you may make it utilize not only the solar cell 20 but as a light source of a photocatalyst (for example, refer Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2009-62321) for the ultraviolet light decomposed | disassembled by the spectrometer 62.

  According to the culture apparatus 1 of the large scale culture plant configured as described above, it is possible to also contribute the sunlight irradiated to the installation area of the incidental facility 50 to the culture of the microalga, and the running cost can be suppressed. In addition, it becomes possible to effectively utilize a limited site, and to significantly increase the production amount of microalga.

  In addition, since the LED illumination 30 is applied as the illumination means, it is advantageous in terms of power consumption, but other illuminations may be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 culture | cultivation apparatus 10 culture tank 20 solar cell 30 LED lighting 40 pillars 41 frame 50 incidental installation 60 light collector 61 optical fiber 62 spectrometer

Claims (5)

A solar cell which is disposed in the upper area of the culture tank outdoors and transmits visible light, while absorbing ultraviolet light to generate power.
And a lighting unit configured to irradiate the culture vessel with light using the solar cell as a power source.   The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell transmits infrared light.   The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell absorbs infrared light to perform power generation. A light collector provided outside the installation area of the culture vessel;
The irradiation apparatus which guide | induces the sunlight which the said light collector collected to the said culture tank, and it irradiates, The culture apparatus of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The culture apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the irradiation unit includes a spectroscopy unit that irradiates visible light to the culture tank and irradiates ultraviolet light to a solar cell.

Images