JP2842971B2 - Algae culture equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for immobilizing carbon dioxide by photosynthesis of underwater plants, and more particularly to an apparatus for culturing algae which is effective for immobilizing carbon dioxide in an area where sunlight is insufficient.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The combustion of fossil fuels in power plants and general industrial boilers increases the concentration of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, and the global warming phenomenon called the greenhouse effect has recently become a problem. Was. As one of means for preventing the destruction of the global environment, as a method of recovering carbon dioxide gas from combustion gas or air and dissolving it in seawater, plants that inhabit seawater by the dissolved carbon dioxide and sunlight, for example, There is known a method in which photosynthesis is caused in microalgae and carbon in carbon dioxide is immobilized as a constituent source of algal body components. Microalgae using this carbon as a constituent source of the algal body component can be dried and used as fuel, etc., and is expected to be an effective method for immobilizing carbon dioxide with less secondary pollution.

However, the depth of penetration of sunlight into water for generating sufficient photosynthesis is at most 20 to 30 cm in the case of an average ocean. A huge area is required to implement this. According to calculations by the present inventors, only an increase in carbon dioxide emissions per year in Japan at present (approximately 75 million TON / year in terms of carbon) can be treated by this method at about 1.6. × 10 ⁴ km ² is required. this is,
It is almost equivalent to the area of Shikoku. Therefore, if the sunlight is artificially transmitted to an area where the sunlight is insufficient or not reachable, the applicable area can be greatly increased. The following method or a method similar thereto has already been disclosed as a method for artificially transmitting sunlight and irradiating plants in the sea. A method of transmitting sunlight through an optical fiber and illuminating a predetermined place (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-88204) A method of using a photoconductive tube whose inner surface is finished with a reflective film (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-158805, 1963-15
No. 2919)

[0004] In any of these, light incident from one end of an optical fiber or a light-conducting tube reaches the other end while repeatedly reflecting over the entire inside thereof, and irradiates an object from the end. The irradiation range is a spot irradiation or a planar irradiation in which a lens or the like is attached to the end portion to perform enlarged irradiation. Therefore, the irradiation light amount is constant with respect to the incident light amount, and it is difficult to perform efficient irradiation according to the surrounding situation.

[0005]

As described above, in order to fix carbon dioxide by the photosynthetic action of microalgae and the like living in the sea on a global warming scale, it is necessary to fix an enormous ocean area due to problems such as the penetration distance of sunlight. Therefore, even if sunlight is artificially transmitted through an optical fiber or the like of the related art, it is planar irradiation, and there is naturally a limit.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention makes it possible to set the entire area in the depth direction as a possible area for photosynthesis of microalgae and the like in a fixed amount of ocean flat area, and to fix a large amount of carbon dioxide. Solar radiation can be adjusted according to the surrounding conditions in the sea,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for immobilizing carbon dioxide by a photosynthetic action of highly efficient microalgae or the like. Of course, the invention can be applied not only to the ocean, but also to lake water, artificial tanks, and the like, and artificial light may be used instead of sunlight.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides the following (1)-
This includes the invention of (3). (1) In an apparatus for irradiating light transmitted by an optical fiber to aquatic organisms living in water in which carbon dioxide is dissolved and culturing the same, the thickness of the cladding layer of the plastic optical fiber in the underwater part where the aquatic organisms inhabit is adjusted. In the shape that is gradually reduced along the traveling direction, the transmitted light is
Culture apparatus algae characterized by comprising as to light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of fiber-optic of varying thickness.
(Hereinafter referred to as the first invention)

(2) The vicinity of the exit end of the optical fiber is formed into a curved shape including a spiral shape, and the thickness of the clad layer of the transmitted light is changed.
Culture apparatus algae above (1), characterized in that to composed so as to light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of fiber-optic obtained by. (Hereinafter referred to as the second invention)

(3) In a device for irradiating light transmitted by an optical fiber to an underwater organism living in water containing carbon dioxide dissolved therein and culturing the same, a plastic optical fiber in an underwater part where the underwater organism inhabits is incident on the incident side. Thick, cut at an angle to the position reaching the center of the optical fiber so as to become thinner on the output side to form a light leakage surface, and further cut the other side of the clad and core so that there is no core at the output end face By cutting at an angle to form a light leakage surface , the optical path cross-sectional area is increased, and transmitted light is formed into a light leakage surface.
Algae culture apparatus characterized by comprising as to light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of fiber optic was. (Hereinafter referred to as the third invention)

[0010]

(1) First invention The optical fiber is formed of a core material (hereinafter, referred to as a core) and a sheath (hereinafter, referred to as a clad). Light passing through the core is totally reflected, and almost no light leaks to the side surface. Transmitted through the core. When the cladding layer was thinned by a physical (mechanical) treatment or a chemical treatment using one or more solvents such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethyl acetate, and methanol, the optical fiber passed through the core. Light leaks from the thinned cladding layer. Since light transmitted through the optical fiber gradually decreases in the longitudinal direction, the thickness of the cladding layer on the incident side is made thicker, and the thickness of the cladding layer on the exit side is made thinner, so that the amount of leakage light can be made uniform in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. it can. The thickness of the clad layer can be adjusted by changing the physical (mechanical) processing time, or by changing the processing time with the solvent and the mixing ratio thereof.

(2) Second Invention As described above, in an optical fiber in which the thickness of the cladding layer is gradually reduced and changed along the traveling direction of light, light passing through the center of the core exits from the exit end. In this case, the light becomes spot irradiation, so that the optical fiber near the exit end is curved. When the radius of curvature of this curvature becomes smaller than the total reflection angle of light incident in the axial direction from one end of the optical fiber, the light passes through the side of the optical fiber and leaks to the outside. Then, the curvature varying the radius Ri Do to changing the incident angle of light on the optical fiber side, becomes freely altering the intensity of light leakage.

(3) Third Invention The optical fiber is cut off at an angle until it reaches the diameter of the optical fiber so that the incident side is thicker on the incident side and becomes thinner on the outgoing side, so that side leakage can occur. But,
With only this, half of the optical fiber cross section goes straight and only half of the incident light can be used for side light, so the clad and core of the cut opposite optical fiber at the end of the cut optical fiber as described above are removed. Cut at an angle so that there is no core on the exit end face. All light incident by the optical fiber cut into such a shape can be used as side light.

An optical fiber having the above function is used in a sea area where combustion gas or carbon dioxide recovered from the atmosphere is dissolved.
One end is above the water for sunlight collection, and the processing part, curved part, or cut part of the cladding layer is placed in the area where microalgae inhabit. If the optical fiber from the lighting position to the irradiation position is lowered straight down, and if the optical fiber in the meantime is coated with a reflective film (cladding) on the outer periphery, the loss of light during that time will be small and the target finer Algae can be irradiated. Furthermore, by installing a plurality of these optical fibers in combination, it is possible to cause the microalgae to perform photosynthetic action in any water area from the sea surface to the sea floor.

Of course, the method of the present invention is not limited to the above-described seawater, sunlight, microalgae, etc., as long as it is capable of inhabiting an underwater plant having a photosynthetic action.
The present invention is also applied to a case where artificial light is used in lake water or an artificial water tank.

[0015]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall view of an apparatus for culturing algae according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an optical fiber used in the first aspect.

In FIG. 1, sunlight condensed by a condensing lens 1 is applied to an end face 3 of an optical fiber 4 in a reflecting film-finished tube 2 at the focal length of the condensing lens 1.
The light enters the optical fiber 4 and is transmitted through a straight line portion. The tube 2 may have a long shape for irradiation at a deep position. When the light reaches the processing section 5 of the optical fiber 4 which has been processed with the acetone / methanol mixed solvent for a different processing time, a part of the sunlight is irradiated on the side of the optical fiber 4 (the thin clad layer).
Light leaks to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 2, the clad processing section 5 of the optical fiber 4 adjusts the processing time with a mixed solvent or the mixed solvent ratio because the light transmitted through the optical fiber 4 gradually decreases in the longitudinal direction. Thus, while the cladding 9 on the incident side is kept thick, the cladding layer 9 is made thinner toward the exit side of the light transmitted by the core 8 and the cladding 9 so that the amount of leakage light is made uniform in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 4. is there.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the clad processing section 5 has a spiral shape, and the radius of curvature thereof is set to be smaller than the total reflection angle of the transmitted sunlight. When it reaches 6, it is preferable that part of the sunlight passes through the side of the optical fiber 4 and leaks to the outside according to the radius of curvature of the helix.

The irradiation area in the depth direction of the sea can be increased by changing the length of the straight section and installing a plurality of the above apparatuses. If a plurality of these devices are installed on the sea surface, irradiation can be performed over the entire required sea area including the depth direction, and the photosynthetic action of underwater organisms can be spread over the entire area.

In this embodiment, the condenser lens 1, the optical fiber 4 and the like are attached to the floating body 7 so that the irradiation depth does not change with respect to the fluctuation of the sea surface. Good.

(Embodiment 2) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of an optical fiber used in the third invention of the present invention. FIG. 3A is an external view, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3C is a horizontal cross-sectional view of each part of FIG. .

The mode of use of the optical fiber of FIG. 3 is the same as that of FIG.

The processing section 5 of the optical fiber 4 is as shown in FIG. 3, and is cut at an angle from a position where the optical fiber 4 comes into contact with the water surface to a position where the optical fiber 4 reaches the center. 4 cuts the opposite side at an angle that does not leave the core 8 of the emission part (it is better to leave the cladding 9), and forms a light leakage surface on the side surface of the optical fiber 4.
Ru is.

When the optical fiber is configured as described above,
The incident light travels straight through the core 8 having the cladding 9, and when it reaches the processing section 5, part of the incident light first leaks to the right in FIG. Go straight, then Figure 2
Light leaks from the left side of (a), and all the incident light becomes side light, which can be widely used for culturing microalgae.

[0025]

The atmospheric emission of carbon dioxide generated by the burning of fossil fuels and the like leads to the destruction of the global environment such as a warming phenomenon. However, the method of the present invention greatly reduces the sea area where microalgae can perform photosynthesis. By immobilizing a large amount of carbon dioxide with little secondary pollution or the like, it can greatly contribute to environmental protection of the earth. In addition, since three-dimensional irradiation and the irradiation range and irradiation amount can be changed to an appropriate one with one optical fiber, the number of optical fibers to be installed can be reduced as compared with the case where an optical fiber is used by a conventional method, It is also very effective in reducing equipment costs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the shape of an optical fiber of one embodiment used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the shape of an optical fiber of another embodiment used in the present invention.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Hirano 2-4-1, Nishi-Atsujigaoka, Chofu-shi, Tokyo Tokyo Electric Power Company R & D Center (72) Inventor Michio Haneda 4-6-22 Kanonshinmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima Mitsubishi (72) Inventor Masato Kaneko 4-72 Kannon Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Hiroshima Research Center (72) Inventor Chinatsu 4-China Kannon Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture No. 22 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Hiroshima Research Institute (56) References JP-A-4-156939 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A01G 33/00 C12M 1/00 C12M 1/36 G02B 6/00 331

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] In an apparatus for irradiating light transmitted by an optical fiber to an underwater organism living in water in which carbon dioxide is dissolved and culturing the same, the thickness of the cladding layer of the plastic optical fiber in the underwater part where the underwater organism inhabits is reduced. The transmitted light is classified into a shape that is gradually reduced along the light traveling direction, and the transmitted light is
Culture apparatus algae characterized by comprising as to light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of fiber-optic with varying the thickness of the head layer. 2. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber has a curved shape including a helical shape in the vicinity of an exit end thereof, and transmits the transmitted light by changing a thickness of a cladding layer.
Algae culture apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that as to the light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of fiber optic was. 3. An apparatus for irradiating light transmitted by an optical fiber to an underwater organism living in water in which carbon dioxide is dissolved and culturing the same, wherein the plastic optical fiber in the underwater part where the underwater organism inhabits has a thick incident side. The light leakage surface is formed by cutting the optical fiber at an angle until it reaches the center of the optical fiber so that it becomes thinner toward the output side. with increasing the optical path cross-sectional area by forming a light surface leakage cut, to become as to light leakage in a side by Li Guang range of light <br/> Fiber which the light transmitted to form Mohikarimen Characteristic algae culture device.