JP2022142222A - Culture system - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve the power generation efficiency of a photovoltaic power generation device by cultivating microalgae satisfactorily and by a simple configuration in which enlargement is suppressed.SOLUTION: A culture system 10 comprises a first culture tank 18S disposed in a reservoir liquid L1 of a first liquid reservoir 20S, and a second culture tank 18N disposed in a reservoir liquid L1 of a second liquid reservoir 20N. A solar panel 60 is disposed between the first liquid reservoir 20S and the second liquid reservoir 20N, which are spaced apart from each other in the second horizontal direction. A light-receiving surface 58 of the solar panel 60 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, so that the end on the side of the first liquid reservoir 20S is disposed above the end on the side of the second liquid reservoir 20N. The first liquid reservoir 20S is provided with a drain port 56 for discharging the reservoir liquid L1 toward the upper portion of a light receiving surface 58.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a culture system that includes a culture device for culturing microalgae and a solar power generation device that photoelectrically converts sunlight to generate power.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a culture system for culturing microalgae in an artificial pond in which a solar power generation device is installed. In the artificial pond, an agitator is installed for agitating the water of the artificial pond and supplying carbon dioxide necessary for photosynthesis to the water. As a result, microalgae are cultivated around the solar power generation device in the artificial pond.

By the way, in a photovoltaic power generation device, if the temperature of the light receiving surface rises above the optimum operating temperature, or if the light irradiation to the light receiving surface is obstructed by adherent matter such as dirt, the power generation efficiency tends to decrease. be. Therefore, this culture system includes a water sprinkler for spraying water on the light receiving surface of the photovoltaic power generation device when the temperature of the light receiving surface reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, and a water supply device for supplying water to the water sprinkler. is further provided.

The sprinkler device has a sprinkler pipe fixedly or rotatably arranged above the light receiving surface. A plurality of holes are provided at predetermined intervals in the side wall of this sprinkler pipe. The water supply device has a water supply pipe connected to the sprinkler pipe, and a pump that supplies water to the sprinkler pipe via the water supply pipe. By driving this pump, water is sprayed onto the light-receiving surface through the plurality of holes of the sprinkler pipe.

JP 2012-90623 A

The water temperature of an artificial pond is likely to change according to changes in the external environment such as the outside air temperature and hours of sunshine, so it is difficult to maintain the temperature suitable for culturing microalgae. Therefore, it is difficult to successfully culture microalgae in the culture system described above.

When water is sprayed from the hole of the water pipe arranged above the light receiving surface as in the water sprinkler and water supply device described above, in order to ensure a sufficient watering range and efficiently cool the light receiving surface, the water must be sprinkled. It is necessary to increase the size of the water pipe or increase the output of the pump. Therefore, a large-sized and large-scale structure is required just to cool the light-receiving surface. Moreover, if the sprinkler pipe arranged above the light-receiving surface is enlarged, the irradiation of light to the light-receiving surface may be blocked, making it difficult to improve the power generation efficiency of the photovoltaic power generation device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. To provide a culture system capable of

One aspect of the present invention is a culture system comprising a culture device for culturing microalgae and a solar power generation device for generating electricity by photoelectric conversion of sunlight, wherein the culture device includes the microalgae and a culture solution and a first liquid storage tank and a second liquid storage tank to which the storage liquid is supplied, respectively, and the solar power generation device includes the solar A solar panel provided with a light-receiving surface for receiving light is provided, the first culture tank is disposed in the storage liquid stored in the first liquid storage tank, and the second culture tank is: The solar panel is arranged in the storage liquid stored in the second storage tank, the first storage tank and the second storage tank are horizontally spaced apart, and the solar panel is , the light-receiving surface is provided between the first liquid storage tank and the second liquid storage tank, and the light-receiving surface is inclined with respect to the vertical direction so that the end portion on the first liquid storage tank side faces the second liquid storage tank. A drainage port is provided in the first liquid storage tank, which is arranged above the end on the liquid storage tank side and discharges the stored liquid toward the upper part of the light receiving surface.

In this culture system, the first culture tank and the second culture tank are surrounded by the storage liquid, so that the culture liquid contained in the first culture tank and the second culture tank is kept warm or cold. As a result, it is possible to suppress the influence of the external environment on the culture solution, so that the temperature of the culture solution can be easily maintained at a temperature suitable for culturing microalgae. As a result, microalgae can be cultivated satisfactorily without being affected by changes in the external environment.

In addition, the light-receiving surface can be efficiently cooled and cleaned by a simple structure in which the stored liquid flows out from the first liquid storage tank through the liquid drain port and flows from above to below the light-receiving surface. can be done. In other words, the reservoir liquid for keeping warm or cold the culture solution can also be used for cooling and washing the light receiving surface. Therefore, in this culturing system, it is not necessary to provide a large and extensive configuration just for cooling and washing the light receiving surface.

As described above, according to this culture system, microalgae can be cultivated satisfactorily, and the power generation efficiency of the photovoltaic power generation device can be improved with a simple configuration in which the size is suppressed.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a culture tank provided in the culture system of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a reservoir provided in the culture system of FIG. 1; FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view illustrating a culture apparatus in which a culture tank is arranged in a reservoir liquid stored in a reservoir, and FIG. 5B is a schematic front view of the culture apparatus of FIG. 5A.

A preferred embodiment of a culture system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings below, constituent elements having the same or similar functions and effects are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description may be omitted.

A culture system 10 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 16. In the culture device 12 of the culture system 10, light and carbon dioxide gas or carbon dioxide-containing gas (for example, air ) and other gases are supplied to culture the cells. In addition to water, the culture solution L2 contains nutrients (for example, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) necessary for culturing microalgae. The gas preferably contains carbon dioxide gas discharged from a factory or the like.

Microalgae that can be cultured by the culture device 12 are not particularly limited. Microalgae classified in the Plasinophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Cyanophyta (eg, Spirulina) are preferred. In particular, as an example of suitable microalgae, "Honda DREAMO strain" (acceptance date Accession No. FERM BP-22306, April 22, 2016).

The culture device 12 and the solar power generation device 14 of the culture system 10 are installed outdoors where sunlight can be irradiated, for example, as an environment that can irradiate light with a wavelength (for example, 400 to 700 nm) necessary for the growth of microalgae. be done. In addition, the culture device 12 and the solar power generation device 14 may be installed in a room or the like that can be irradiated with sunlight. At least one of the culture device 12 and the solar power generation device 14 may be irradiated with artificial light in addition to sunlight.

Below, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, each component of the culture system 10 will be described in the vertical direction (gravitational direction, arrow X1 and X2 directions) when installed at the installation location where microalgae are cultured, A first horizontal direction (directions of arrows Y1 and Y2) and a second horizontal direction (directions of arrows Z1 and Z2) orthogonal to the first horizontal direction will be described as references.

When the culture system 10 is installed in the northern hemisphere, the second horizontal direction is preferably a north-south direction in which the arrow Z1 side is the north side and the arrow Z2 side is the south side. That is, the first horizontal direction is preferably an east-west direction in which the arrow Y1 side is the east side and the arrow Y2 side is the west side. When the culture system 10 is installed in the southern hemisphere, it is preferable that the arrow Z1 side be the south side and the arrow Z2 side be the north side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the culturing apparatus 12 has a plurality of sets (three sets in this embodiment) each including one culture tank 18 and one liquid storage tank 20 . As shown in FIG. 2, the culture tank 18 can contain microalgae and culture solution L2, and is made of flexible and translucent material such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). formed. In addition, translucency here means being able to permeate the light of a wavelength required for the growth of microalgae. At least the side surfaces (surfaces other than the bottom surface and the top surface) of the culture tank 18 may be made of a translucent material.

In this embodiment, a joint edge portion 22 formed by joining the inner wall surfaces of the culture tank 18 by welding or the like is provided on the outer peripheral edge portion of the culture tank 18 . In addition, in FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the joints by welding or the like are indicated by oblique lines. The joint edge 22 closes the space for accommodating the culture solution L2 in the culture tank 18 and isolates it from the outside. In other words, the culture tank 18 is a so-called closed photobioreactor that cultures microalgae in the culture solution L2 isolated from the outside.

Although not shown, the outer peripheral edge of the culture tank 18 may include a portion where the joint edge 22 is not provided, and the culture tank is connected through the portion where the joint edge 22 is not provided. 18 may be accessible. In this case, the areas where the joint edge 22 is not provided may be normally closed and only open when accessing the interior of the culture vessel 18, such as for example when collecting microalgae.

The culture tank 18 includes a partition portion 24, a joint portion 26, a guide portion 28, a circulation portion 30, a gas supply port 32, a culture solution supply port 34, a gas discharge port 36, and a microalgae recovery port 38. and are provided. In the present embodiment, a culture chamber having two partitions 24, six joints 26, three guides 28, six circulation units 30, and three gas supply ports 32 is provided. Although the tank 18 will be described, the number of each of the partition portion 24, the joint portion 26, the guide portion 28, the circulation portion 30, and the gas supply port 32 is not particularly limited.

The partition part 24 , the joint part 26 , the guide part 28 , and the circulation part 30 each extend in the vertical direction (gravitational direction) inside the culture tank 18 . In addition, the extending directions of the partition portion 24, the joint portion 26, the guide portion 28, and the circulation portion 30 are not limited to being parallel to the vertical direction, and may be along the vertical direction while being inclined. good.

In this embodiment, the interior of the culture tank 18 is partitioned into three regions 40 aligned in the first horizontal direction (arrows Y1 and Y2) by the two partitions 24 . By arranging the regions 40 in the first horizontal direction in this way, the length of the culture tank 18 in the first horizontal direction is longer than the length in the second horizontal direction (directions of arrows Z1 and Z2).

The partition part 24 is formed by joining the inner walls of the culture tank 18 together by welding or the like. Each region 40 in the culture tank 18 partitioned by the partition part 24 is further partitioned by a joint part 26 formed by joining inner wall surfaces of the culture tank 18 by welding or the like. Thus, in each region 40, one guide portion 28 and two circulation portions 30 arranged side by side on both sides of the guide portion 28 in the horizontal direction are formed. In order to suppress stress concentration and the like, both end portions in the extending direction of the partition portion 24 and the joint portion 26 are preferably formed in an arc shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the culture tank 18 contains the culture solution L2, the guide part 28 and the circulation part 30 each have a substantially cylindrical cross-sectional shape when viewed in the direction of gravity. In the present embodiment, the inner diameter of each guide portion 28 as viewed in the direction of gravity is set to be approximately twice the inner diameter of the circulation portion 30, but is not particularly limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the vertical (extending) lengths of the joints 26 and the partitions 24 are set shorter than the vertical length of the culture tank 18 . Moreover, the vertical length of the partition portion 24 is set to be equal to or greater than the vertical length of the joint portion 26 . Below the junction 26 in the culture tank 18, a guide portion entrance 42 is formed to allow the guide portion 28 and the circulation portion 30 to communicate with each other. Further, above the joint 26 in the culture tank 18, a guide outlet 44 is formed to allow the guide 28 and the circulation section 30 to communicate with each other.

The gas supply ports 32 are provided at the bottom of the culture tank 18 so as to be arranged below the guide portions 28 provided in each region 40 in the culture tank 18 . The gas supply port 32 is connected to a gas supply mechanism (not shown). Therefore, the gas can be supplied from the gas supply mechanism to the inside of the culture tank 18 through the gas supply port 32 . At this time, since the gas supply port 32 is provided on the lower side of the guide portion 28, the gas supplied into the culture tank 18 flows through the guide portion 28 from the lower side to the upper side. As a result, in each region 40 in the culture tank 18, the culture solution L2 in the circulation part 30 flows into the guide part 28 from the guide part inlet 42, and the culture solution L2 in the guide part 28 flows from the guide part outlet 44. A culture fluid flow F is generated which flows out into the circulation section 30 .

The culture solution supply port 34 is provided, for example, on the upper end side of the culture tank 18 . In addition, the culture solution supply port 34 is connected to a culture solution supply mechanism (not shown) so that the culture solution L2 can be supplied to the inside of the culture tank 18 . In addition, microalgae may be supplied to the inside of the culture tank 18 together with the culture solution L2 through the culture solution supply port 34 .

A gas discharge port 36 is provided on the upper end side of the culture tank 18 and enables the gas inside the culture tank 18 to be discharged. As the gas inside the culture tank 18, among the gases supplied from the gas supply port 32, residual carbon dioxide gas not consumed in photosynthesis of microalgae, oxygen gas generated in photosynthesis, etc. are mentioned.

The microalgae recovery port 38 is provided, for example, on the lower end side of the culture tank 18 and enables the culture solution L2 and the microalgae in the culture tank 18 to be collected. The culture solution supply port 34 and the microalgae recovery port 38 are provided to be openable and closable, and can be closed except when the culture solution L2 is supplied to and discharged from the culture tank 18 .

At the upper end side of the culture tank 18, a fixing part 46 is provided which is isolated from the space for accommodating the culture solution L2 in the culture tank 18. As shown in FIG. The fixing portion 46 is provided with a through hole 48 through which a support member (not shown) or the like is inserted when the culture tank 18 is installed at the installation location.

As shown in FIG. 4, the storage tank 20 is made of a flexible and translucent material such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) like the culture tank 18 . The liquid storage tank 20 may be made of a translucent material such as acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or glass. Note that at least the side surfaces of the liquid storage tank 20 (surfaces other than the bottom and top surfaces of the liquid storage tank 20) should be made of a translucent material.

The liquid storage tank 20 has a liquid storage section 50 and a lid section 52 . The liquid storage unit 50 stores therein the storage liquid L1 supplied from the storage liquid supply unit 54 . At least one of the liquid storage part 50 and the lid part 52 is provided with a stored liquid supply port (not shown), and the stored liquid L1 can be supplied through the stored liquid supply port. The stored liquid L1 is a translucent liquid such as water. As shown in FIGS. 1, 5A, and 5B, the inner dimension of the liquid storage part 50 is set larger than the outer dimension of the culture tank 18, and the culture tank 18 can be installed inside the liquid storage part 50. It has become.

A drainage port 56 is provided on the upper end side (arrow X2 side) of the drainage side surface 50a, which is the side surface of the liquid storage section 50 on the arrow Z1 side. The drain port 56 is provided so as to protrude from the drain side surface 50a toward the arrow Z1 side. The water stored in the liquid storage part 50 can be discharged to the outside of the liquid storage part 50 from the distal end side of the liquid discharge port 56 in the projecting direction. In the present embodiment, the shape of the drain port 56 as viewed in the second horizontal direction is a rectangular shape extending from one end side to the other end side in the first horizontal direction of the drain side surface 50a. However, the shape, size, number, etc. of the drain port 56 are not particularly limited.

1 and 4 to 5B show a housing-shaped liquid storage unit 50 with an open upper end. Various shapes that can be used can be adopted, and for example, it may be bag-shaped. The lid portion 52 closes an opening provided at the upper end of the liquid storage portion 50 so as to be able to open and close. As a result, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the liquid storage section 50, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the solar power generation device 14 includes a plurality of solar panels 60 (two in this embodiment) provided with light receiving surfaces 58 for receiving external light such as sunlight, and the solar panels 60 and a temperature sensor 62 provided on the light receiving surface 58 of the. The solar panel 60 is installed so that the light receiving surface 58 faces upward, and photoelectrically converts the sunlight irradiated on the light receiving surface 58 to generate electric power. Note that the solar power generation device 14 may include a storage battery (not shown) that stores electric power obtained by power generation by the solar panel 60 .

Electric power obtained by power generation by the solar panel 60 is supplied, for example, to the components of the culture apparatus 12 that are driven by electric power, such as the gas supply mechanism and the stored liquid supply unit 54 . This makes it possible to reduce or eliminate the power supplied from the outside of the culture system 10 in order to culture the microalgae.

A temperature sensor 62 measures the temperature of the light receiving surface 58 . A measurement result obtained by the temperature sensor 62 is sent to the control unit 16 . Note that the temperature sensor 62 may be provided on each of the plurality of solar panels 60 , or may be provided on only one or more selected from the plurality of solar panels 60 .

The plurality of liquid storage tanks 20 of the culture device 12 are arranged side by side in the second horizontal direction with the solar panels 60 interposed therebetween. At this time, the liquid storage tank 20 arranged on the arrow Z2 side (south side) of the solar panel 60 is also referred to as a first liquid storage tank 20S, and the liquid storage tank arranged on the arrow Z1 side (north side) of the solar panel 60. 20 is also referred to as a second liquid storage tank 20N. The culture tank 18 arranged in the liquid L1 stored in the first liquid storage tank 20S is also referred to as a first culture tank 18S, and is disposed in the liquid L1 stored in the second liquid storage tank 20N. The culture tank is also called a second culture tank 18N.

When the first liquid storage tank 20S and the second liquid storage tank 20N are not particularly distinguished from each other, they may be collectively referred to simply as the liquid storage tank 20 . Moreover, when the first fermenter 18S and the second fermenter 18N are not particularly distinguished, they may be collectively referred to simply as the fermenter 18 .

Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the case where the culture system 10 includes three liquid storage tanks 20a, 20b, 20c and two solar panels 60a, 60b will be specifically described. In FIG. 1, the liquid storage tank 20a, the solar panel 60a, the liquid storage tank 20b, the solar panel 60b, and the liquid storage tank 20c are arranged in this order from the arrow Z2 side toward the arrow Z1 side. Therefore, when focusing on the solar panel 60a, the liquid storage tank 20a becomes the first liquid storage tank 20S, and the liquid storage tank 20b becomes the second liquid storage tank 20N. On the other hand, when focusing on the solar panel 60b, the liquid storage tank 20b becomes the first liquid storage tank 20S, and the liquid storage tank 20c becomes the second liquid storage tank 20N.

Note that the number of liquid storage tanks 20 included in the culture device 12 is not limited to three. Further, the number of solar panels 60 included in the solar power generation device 14 is not limited to two. Furthermore, like the liquid storage tank 20c, the liquid discharge port 56 is arranged at the end of the arrow Z1 side in the second horizontal direction and the solar panel 60 is not arranged further on the arrow Z1 side. It does not have to be provided.

That is, in the culture system 10, the first liquid storage tank 20S and the second liquid storage tank 20N are arranged at intervals in the second horizontal direction. A solar panel 60 is provided between them. Further, the solar panel 60 is supported by a support portion or the like (not shown), so that the end of the light receiving surface 58 on the side of the first liquid storage tank 20S (the side of the arrow Z2) faces the side of the second liquid storage tank 20N (the side of the second liquid storage tank 20N). It is arranged inclined with respect to the vertical direction so as to be arranged above (the arrow X2 side) the end of the arrow Z1 side). In other words, the upper end side of the light-receiving surface 58, which is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, faces the drain side surface 50a of the first liquid storage tank 20S.

As described above, the drainage port 56 provided on the drainage side surface 50a of the first storage tank 20S protrudes from the drainage side surface 50a. As a result, the projecting tip portion 56a of the drain port 56 is arranged above the light receiving surface 58 and closer to the second liquid storage tank 20N than the end of the solar panel 60 facing the first liquid storage tank 20S. be done. Therefore, the stored liquid L1 discharged from the first liquid storage tank 20S through the drain port 56 is supplied to the upper end side of the light receiving surface 58 . Since the light receiving surface 58 is inclined as described above, the stored liquid L1 supplied to the upper end side of the light receiving surface 58 flows along the light receiving surface 58 toward the lower end side of the light receiving surface 58 .

A recovery unit 64 that recovers the stored liquid L1 that has flowed on the light receiving surface 58 is provided on the lower end side of the solar panel 60 . The recovery part 64 has, for example, a groove shape extending in the first horizontal direction along the lower edge of the solar panel 60, and the light receiving surface 58 is provided inside the recovery part 64 through the upper opening thereof. It is possible to collect the stored liquid L1 that has flowed. Note that the collecting portion 64 is not limited to the above groove shape, and may have any shape as long as it can collect the stored liquid L1 that has flowed on the light receiving surface 58 .

The retained liquid L1 recovered in the recovery unit 64 (hereinafter also referred to as the recovered liquid L3) is filtered through a filter or the like (not shown) to remove foreign matter, and then is sent to the retained liquid supply unit 54 through a pipe or the like. It may be returned or reused for other uses. Another example of the use of the collected liquid L3 is to use it as the culture liquid L2 contained in the culture tank 18 . In this case, for example, chlorine for sterilization and nitrogen (N), phosphoric acid (P), potassium (K), minerals, etc. that serve as nutrients for microalgae are added to the recovery liquid L3 from which foreign substances have been removed. , may be used as the culture solution L2. Common microalgae tend to be inhibited from growing when chlorine is added. However, since the above "HondaDREAMO strain" has a relatively high resistance to chlorine, it can be cultured satisfactorily even if the recovery liquid L3 to which chlorine is added is used as the culture liquid L2.

The control unit 16 is configured as, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (not shown) and the like, and executes predetermined calculations according to a control program. The control unit 16 controls the stored liquid supply unit 54 based on, for example, the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 sent from the temperature sensor 62 .

Specifically, the controller 16 monitors the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 . Then, when it is determined that the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 exceeds the threshold temperature, the stored liquid supply unit 54 is driven to supply the stored liquid L1 to the first liquid storage tank 20S. As a result, the stored liquid L1 supplied to the first liquid storage tank 20S exceeding its maximum capacity (volume) overflows from the drain port 56 and is discharged onto the light receiving surface 58. The light receiving surface 58 is cooled and cleaned. The threshold temperature is higher than the optimum operating temperature of the solar panel 60 and is a reference temperature for determining that the light receiving surface 58 needs to be cooled.

The timing at which the controller 16 supplies the storage liquid L1 to the light receiving surface 58 is not limited to when the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 exceeds the threshold temperature. For example, the stored liquid L1 may be supplied to the light-receiving surface 58 every time a predetermined period elapses after power generation by the solar power generation device 14 is started. Alternatively, the reservoir liquid L1 may be supplied to the light receiving surface 58 at a timing instructed by the operator of the culture system 10 .

Furthermore, the timing at which the control unit 16 stops supplying the stored liquid L1 to the light receiving surface 58 is not particularly limited, either. Decisions can be made based on instructions.

The culture system 10 according to this embodiment is basically configured as described above. An example of the operation of the culture system 10 will be described below. In the culture system 10, both microalgae culture by the culture device 12 and photovoltaic power generation by the photovoltaic power generation device 14 can be performed.

When culturing microalgae by the culture device 12, first, as shown in FIGS. The culture medium L2 supplied from the supply mechanism is accommodated inside the culture tank 18 . By supplying the culture solution L2 into the culture tank 18 in the reservoir liquid L1 in this way, it is possible to suppress damage to the culture tank 18 due to the hydraulic pressure of the culture solution L2.

Next, gas is supplied from the gas supply mechanism through the gas supply port 32 toward the guide portion 28 of each region 40 in the culture tank 18 . Thereby, a culture fluid flow F can be generated in each region 40 of the culture tank 18 . Therefore, the microalgae can be well dispersed while circulating the microalgae together with the culture solution L2 in the culture tank 18, and gas and light can be effectively supplied to the entire microalgae.

At this time, the reservoir liquid L1 is translucent, and the side surfaces of the culture tank 18 and the liquid storage tank 20 are made of a translucent material. Therefore, it is possible to irradiate the microalgae with light such as sunlight through the side surfaces of the culture tank 18 and the liquid storage tank 20 . As a result, for example, compared to culturing in a so-called open pond (raceway pond) such as an artificial pond, a large light-receiving area can be secured with respect to the culture volume of microalgae. As a result, it is possible to distribute light energy to more microalgae in the culture tank 18 in a controlled amount.

Furthermore, the culture tank 18 is arranged in the reservoir liquid L<b>1 reserved in the reservoir tank 20 . Therefore, the culture solution L2 and microalgae in the culture tank 18 are suppressed from being affected by changes in the external environment of the culture system 10 (for example, the outside temperature, the intensity of solar radiation, the amount of solar radiation, the duration of solar radiation, etc.). . This facilitates maintaining the temperature of the culture solution L2 in the culture tank 18 at a temperature suitable for culturing microalgae.

When the storage liquid L1 in the culture tank 18 decreases due to transpiration or the like, the storage liquid supply unit 54 replenishes the storage liquid L1 based on the control of the control unit 16 or the like, thereby reducing the storage liquid L1 in the storage tank 20. Adjust the liquid volume. Thereby, it is preferable to maintain a state in which the circumference of the culture tank 18 is surrounded by the reservoir liquid L1.

After the microalgae are sufficiently grown in the culture tank 18 as described above, the microalgae are recovered from the culture tank 18 together with the culture solution L2 through the microalgae recovery port 38 . Then, by separating the microalgae and the culture solution L2, the microalgae cultured in the culture device 12 can be obtained.

On the other hand, in the solar power generation device 14, the sunlight received by the light receiving surface 58 of the solar panel 60 is photoelectrically converted to generate power. The power thus obtained is supplied to the power-driven components of the incubation device 12 . That is, in the culture system 10 according to the present embodiment, microalgae can be cultured using the power (renewable energy) obtained by the solar power generation device 14 . For this reason, for example, compared with the case of culturing microalgae using electric power obtained from fossil fuels, it is possible to effectively suppress the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

When the photovoltaic power generation device 14 generates power, the controller 16 monitors the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 measured by the temperature sensor 62 . The temperature of the light-receiving surface 58 may rise beyond the threshold temperature due to sunlight irradiation or the like. When the controller 16 detects that the measured temperature of the light receiving surface 58 exceeds the threshold temperature, the controller 16 causes the reservoir liquid supply part 54 to start supplying the reservoir liquid L1 to the reservoir tank 20 . As a result, the stored liquid L1 supplied in excess of the maximum capacity of the first liquid storage tank 20S overflows the drain port 56 and is discharged to the upper end side of the light receiving surface 58 .

The stored liquid L1 discharged from the drain port 56 flows along the light receiving surface 58 to the lower end side of the light receiving surface 58, thereby cooling and cleaning the light receiving surface 58. FIG. As a result, the temperature of the light-receiving surface 58 can be maintained at the threshold temperature or less, so that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar panel 60 can be prevented from decreasing. As a result, the power generation efficiency of the photovoltaic power generation device 14 can be improved. The retained liquid L1 that has flowed through the light-receiving surface 58 is recovered by the recovery unit 64 to become the recovered liquid L3, returned to the retained liquid supply unit 54 and reused as the retained liquid L1, or used for other purposes such as the culture liquid L2. reused in

As described above, the light-receiving surface 58 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. Therefore, when the sunlight irradiated on the light-receiving surface 58 is reflected, the reflected light is the side surface of the second liquid storage tank 20N on the arrow Z2 side. It faces the light irradiation side 50b. This also makes it possible to irradiate the microalgae with reflected light through the light irradiation side surface 50b of the second liquid storage tank 20N.

Further, as described above, in the culture system 10, the arrow Z2 side is the south side, so the light irradiation side surface 50b faces the south side and the drainage side surface 50a faces the north side. Since the solar panel 60 is provided adjacent to the drainage side surface 50a facing the north side in this way, the influence of the solar panel 60 blocking the sunlight irradiated to the microalgae through the drainage side surface 50a is reduced. be able to.

Furthermore, in order to efficiently irradiate the microalgae with sunlight through the side surfaces of the culture tank 18 and the liquid storage tank 20, the distance between the first liquid storage tank 20S and the second liquid storage tank 20N should be widened to some extent. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the sunlight radiating from the side from being blocked by the adjacent liquid storage tank. In the culture system 10 according to this embodiment, the solar panel 60 can be provided using the space formed between the liquid storage tanks as described above. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the culture system 10 from increasing in size. Moreover, since the sunlight radiated to the space formed between the liquid storage tanks can be used to generate power, the utilization efficiency of the sunlight radiated to the exclusive area of the culture system 10 can be increased. can.

As described above, in the culture system 10 according to the present embodiment, the surroundings of the first culture tank 18S and the second culture tank 18N are surrounded by the retained liquid L1, so that the inside of the first culture tank 18S and the second culture tank 18N The accommodated culture medium L2 is kept warm or cold. As a result, it is possible to suppress the influence of the external environment on the culture solution L2, so that the temperature of the culture solution L2 can be easily maintained at a temperature suitable for culturing microalgae. As a result, microalgae can be cultivated satisfactorily without being affected by changes in the external environment.

In addition, in the culture system 10, the stored liquid L1 is caused to flow from the top to the bottom on the light receiving surface 58 by a simple configuration in which the stored liquid L1 is discharged from the first liquid storage tank 20S through the drain port 56, The light receiving surface 58 can be efficiently cooled and cleaned. In other words, since the reservoir liquid L1 for keeping the culture medium L2 warm or cold can also be used for cooling and cleaning the light receiving surface 58, a large-scale configuration is provided only for cooling and cleaning the light receiving surface 58. No need.

Therefore, according to the culture system 10 according to the present embodiment, microalgae can be cultivated satisfactorily, and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 14 can be improved with a simple configuration that suppresses an increase in size. can. In addition, since the light receiving surface 58 is cooled and washed not by the culture solution L2, but by using the storage solution L1 for keeping warm or cold of the culture solution L2, the adhesion of organisms to the light receiving surface 58 and the like are prevented. It is possible to avoid burdening the microalgae in the tank 18 .

In the culture system 10 according to the above embodiment, the drainage port 56 protrudes from the first liquid storage tank 20S, and the projecting tip portion 56a of the drainage port 56 faces the first liquid storage tank 20S of the solar panel 60. It was arranged on the side of the second liquid storage tank 20N from the side end. In this case, the stored liquid L1 discharged from the liquid drain port 56 can be reliably guided to the upper part of the light receiving surface 58 with a simple structure, and the light receiving surface 58 can be cooled and cleaned satisfactorily.

In the culture system 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the retained liquid L1 has translucency, and the first culture tank 18S, the first liquid storage tank 20S, the second culture tank 18N, and the second liquid storage tank 20N is to be formed from a translucent material at least on the side surfaces. In this case, as described above, it is possible to distribute the light energy in which the excess and deficiency are suppressed to more microalgae in the culture tank 18, so that the microalgae are more favorably cultured by the culture device 12. becomes possible.

In the culture system 10 according to the above embodiment, the lower end side of the solar panel 60 is provided with the recovery section 64 that recovers the stored liquid L1 that has flowed on the light receiving surface 58 . In this case, as described above, it is possible to effectively use the stored liquid L1 after cooling and washing the light receiving surface 58, thus saving water resources. Depending on the environment of the place where the culture system 10 is installed, the culture system 10 may not include the collection unit 64, and the stored liquid L1 after cooling and washing the light receiving surface 58 may be discharged to the ground, for example. .

In the culture system 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the solar power generation device 14 supplies power obtained by power generation by the solar panel 60 to the culture device 12 . In this case, as described above, it is possible to cultivate microalgae while suppressing emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Note that the solar power generation device 14 may supply power obtained by power generation by the solar panel 60 to a device other than the culture device 12 .

The present invention is not particularly limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, inside the culture tank 18, the guide part 28 and the circulation part 30, which respectively extend along the direction of gravity when the culture tank 18 is installed at the installation location, are provided side by side in the horizontal direction. The guide part 28 and the circulation part 30 communicate with each other through a guide part inlet 42 provided on the lower side in the direction of gravity and a guide part outlet 44 provided on the upper side in the direction of gravity. 18 is provided with a gas supply port 32 that enables gas to be supplied from the lower side to the upper side in the direction of gravity to the guide portion 28. When the gas is supplied from the gas supply port 32 to the guide portion 28, A culture fluid flow F is generated in which the culture fluid L2 in the circulation part 30 flows into the guide part 28 from the guide part inlet 42 and the culture fluid L2 in the guide part 28 flows out from the guide part outlet 44 into the circulation part 30. I decided to

In this case, the culture solution flow F can be generated in the culture tank 18 by a simple configuration in which the gas necessary for culturing microalgae is supplied from the gas supply port 32 and circulated through the guide portion 28 . Moreover, there is no need to provide and drive a special configuration for generating the culture solution flow F, such as a water pump. Therefore, it becomes possible to satisfactorily culture microalgae with a simple configuration while suppressing an increase in energy consumption.

However, the configuration of the culture tank 18 is not particularly limited. For example, the culture tank 18 may generate a culture solution flow using a water pump (not shown) or the like to circulate the culture solution L2 in the culture tank 18 .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Culture system 12... Culture apparatus 14... Solar power generation apparatus 18S... 1st culture tank 18N... 2nd culture tank 20S... 1st liquid storage tank 20N... 2nd liquid storage tank 56... Drain port 56a... Protruding tip part 58... Light-receiving surfaces 60, 60a, 60b... Solar panel 62... Temperature sensor 64... Recovery unit L1... Retained liquid L2... Culture solution L3... Recovered liquid

Claims (5)

A culture system comprising a culture device for culturing microalgae and a solar power generation device for generating electricity by photoelectric conversion of sunlight,
The culturing device has a first culturing tank and a second culturing tank that contain the microalgae and the culture solution, respectively, and a first liquid storage tank and a second liquid storage tank that are respectively supplied with the storage liquid inside. death,
The solar power generation device has a solar panel provided with a light receiving surface that receives the sunlight,
The first culture tank is arranged in the liquid stored in the first liquid storage tank,
The second culture tank is arranged in the storage liquid stored in the second storage tank,
The first liquid storage tank and the second liquid storage tank are horizontally spaced apart,
The solar panel is provided between the first liquid storage tank and the second liquid storage tank,
The light-receiving surface is inclined with respect to the vertical direction so that the end on the first liquid storage tank side is arranged above the end on the second liquid storage tank side,
The culture system, wherein the first liquid storage tank is provided with a drainage port for discharging the retained liquid toward the upper portion of the light receiving surface. In the culture system of claim 1,
The drainage port protrudes from the first liquid storage tank,
The culturing system, wherein a projecting tip of the drain port is arranged closer to the second liquid storage tank than an end of the solar panel facing the first liquid storage tank. In the culture system according to claim 1 or 2,
The reservoir liquid has translucency,
The culture system, wherein each of the first culture tank, the first liquid storage tank, the second culture tank, and the second liquid storage tank is made of a material having at least side surfaces that are translucent. In the culture system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A culture system, wherein a collection unit for collecting the retained liquid that has flowed on the light receiving surface is provided on a lower end side of the solar panel. In the culture system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The culture system, wherein the solar power generation device supplies power obtained by power generation by the solar panel to the culture device.

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