JP7091182B2 - Stirring and culturing equipment for filamentous bodies of seaweed - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stirring culture device used for artificially stirring and culturing filamentous seedlings for extracting components contained in seaweed.

When extracting the components contained in seaweed, there is a technique such as artificially stirring and culturing the seaweed and extracting the contained components from the culture obtained there to efficiently extract the contained components. Are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which filamentous seedlings of seaweed are artificially stirred and cultured, and the obtained culture is extracted with an organic solvent. At the time of culturing, it is necessary to stir the seaweed in the culture solution, and various stirring devices have been conventionally devised.

As a general device for stirring and culturing, stirring devices having various configurations for improving stirring efficiency and the like have been devised. For example, Patent Document 2 includes a cylinder (draft tube) provided in the center of the culture vessel and a stirring blade inside or outside the central cylinder in the culture vessel, and the outer peripheral portion of the cylinder. Disclosed is a stirring device having a structure in which a baffle plate is provided in the container to give a flow of liquid in a container not only in the axial direction but also in the circumferential direction to increase the heat transfer coefficient.

Further, Patent Document 3 describes the cylindrical body in a configuration including a cylindrical body (draft tube) provided in the center of the culture vessel and a stirring blade inside or outside the central cylindrical body in the culture vessel. A technique for improving the power efficiency of stirring is disclosed by making the distance and the positional relationship with the stirring blade suitable.

Further, Patent Document 4 has a configuration in which a cylinder provided in the center of the culture vessel and a stirring blade inside or outside the central cylinder in the culture vessel are provided, and an axial flow blade is provided inside the cylinder. A configuration is disclosed in which a car is provided, whereby a culture solution or the like is discharged from the upper part of the cylinder and dropped to the outside of the cylinder.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-51892 Jikkenhei 03-70732 Gazette Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-193211 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-251077

It is known that the morphology of seaweeds for culturing is filamentous, and in a single flow (water flow / culture solution flow), the filaments aggregate to form a spherical aggregate for photosynthesis. Light does not reach the center, which may slow down the growth rate. In addition, when a part of the filamentous seaweed adheres to the instrument, it becomes a string-like aggregate, and the light does not reach the central part, which may reduce the growth rate. Furthermore, since seaweeds do not have an epidermis, they are vulnerable to rubbing and twisting, and when damaged, the internal substances of the algae flow out and die.

Under these circumstances, when the purpose is to cultivate seaweeds, the morphology of seaweeds is filamentous, and there is a possibility that various problems may occur in a general stirring device. For example, when a stirring device configuration provided with a stirring blade as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 is used, the filamentous seaweed may be damaged and killed by the end edge of the rotating stirring blade. In addition, a shaft body for rotating the stirring blade is provided in the center of the container, and the culture solution is not sufficiently stirred and floats around (near) the shaft body. Seaweeds may become spherical aggregates, and there is a concern that the stirring efficiency and culture efficiency may decrease. In particular, in agitation culture of seaweed, low-speed agitation is required to prevent damage to the seaweed. When the stirring blade is rotated at a low speed, in addition to the rotation itself being slow, the closer to the central axis of rotation, the slower the speed of the rotational flow of the culture solution, the slower the flow of the culture solution, and the circumference of the shaft body. There is a risk that the formation of aggregates in the vicinity will be noticeable.

Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to prevent damage to seaweeds, suppress the formation of filamentous seaweeds into aggregates, and efficiently stir and culture the seaweeds. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stirring culture apparatus for realizing the improvement of efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, it is a stirring culture device for stirring and culturing seaweeds, in which a culture solution and seaweeds to be cultured are injected, and the seaweeds are stirred and cultured inside. A rotatable, substantially cylindrical water tank, an internal impeller mechanism that has a smaller diameter and a lower height than the water tank and is fixed independently of the rotation of the water tank, and an inner peripheral surface of the water tank. The water tank and the internal impeller mechanism are composed of a transparent member, and the internal impeller mechanism is a substantially cylindrical hollow upper impeller mechanism. The lower impeller mechanism is composed of two openings facing each other on the peripheral surface of a substantially cylindrical hollow shape, and the lower impeller mechanism is formed with inflow blades protruding laterally from the openings. The upper end of the internal impeller mechanism is fixed to the outside of the water tank via a support column at a plurality of eccentric positions with respect to the center of the water tank , and the internal space of the lower impeller mechanism is located in the inner center of the lower impeller mechanism. Provided is a stirring culture apparatus, characterized in that a partition wall is provided which divides the space into two spaces communicating with each of the two openings .
Examples of the "seaweed" in the present invention include green algae belonging to the family Codium (Mill genus), the family Moturegusa, and brown algae belonging to the family Ectocarpus silifolia.

A plurality of the water flow generating blades may be provided, and the plurality of water flow generating blades may be provided at a plurality of locations evenly at predetermined intervals in a plan view on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank.

A plurality of the water flow generating blades are provided, and the plurality of water flow generating blades are provided at a position divided into a plurality of places in the water tank height direction, and the plurality of places in the water tank height direction are positions surrounding the support column and the upper portion. A position surrounding the impeller mechanism and a position surrounding the lower impeller mechanism may be included.

According to the present invention, in culturing seaweeds, damage to the seaweeds is prevented, the seaweeds which are filamentous bodies are suppressed from forming into aggregates, and efficient stirring is performed to improve the culture efficiency. Can be done.

It is a perspective view which shows the schematic structure of the stirring culture apparatus. It is a side sectional view which shows the schematic structure of the stirring culture apparatus. 2 is a plan sectional view showing an AA cross section, a BB cross section, a CC cross section, and a DD cross section in FIG. 2. It is a schematic side sectional view explaining the stirring flow in a water tank. It is a schematic plan sectional view explaining the stirring flow in a water tank.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

(Structure of stirring culture device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a stirring culture apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the stirring culture device 1. 3 (a) to 3 (d) are plan sectional views showing an AA cross section, a BB cross section, a CC cross section, and a DD cross section in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 1, a part of the members inside the apparatus is shown by a broken line. Further, in FIG. 3, for the sake of explanation, some device configurations that do not exist in the cross section may be illustrated by broken lines.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stirring culture device 1 includes a substantially cylindrical water tank 10, a water tank lid 11 that closes the water tank 10 from above, and a rotary table 20 and a pedestal 22 located below the water tank 10. The rotary table 20 has a substantially annular shape (so-called donut shape), and a pedestal 22 is provided at the center thereof at a distance from the rotary table 20. A water tank 10 is placed on the rotary table 20, and the water tank 10 also rotates according to the rotation of the rotary table 20. Although not shown, a member (turnbuckle or the like) for preventing the water tank 10 from rolling over may be attached between the rotary table 20 and the water tank 10 as needed.
On the other hand, the pedestal 22 is fixed and is connected to the internal impeller mechanism 40 described later in the water tank 10 via a support pin 60 shown in FIG. 2, a magnet member (not shown), and the like. That is, the water tank 10 is rotatably provided by connecting to the rotary table 20, while the internal impeller mechanism 40 in the water tank 10 is connected to the fixed pedestal 22 and is provided so as not to rotate.

Further, a power mechanism 25 as a power source for rotating the water tank 10 on the rotary table 20 is connected to the rotary table 20. The rotary table 20 and the power mechanism 25 are connected by, for example, a power transmission chain, and the power mechanism 25 has a configuration in which the rotation speed of the rotary table 20 can be arbitrarily changed according to the drive thereof, for example, driving the power transmission chain. It may be configured by a motor or the like for making it. Further, the water tank 10 is made of a transparent member, and is made of, for example, an acrylic resin. The dimensions of the water tank 10 may be, for example, φ500 mm × height 1000 mm, and its capacity may be, for example, about 200 liters.

Further, on the upper surface of the water tank lid 11, an exhaust port 13, an injection port 14 for injecting air and seaweed, and an injection / drain port 15 for injecting and draining seawater are provided. Valves V1 to V3 that can be opened and closed are attached to the exhaust port 13, the injection port 14, and the injection / drain port 15, respectively, and by operating these valves, exhaust in the water tank 10, injection of air and seaweed, water injection and drainage of seawater Is done. Further, a take-out port 18 for taking out seaweed is provided below the side surface of the substantially cylindrical water tank 10, and a valve V4 that can be opened and closed is also attached to the take-out port 18. Members such as exhaust, drainage, and water injection hoses are attached to the exhaust port 13, the injection port 14, the injection / drain port 15, and the take-out port 18 as needed, but they are removable and are water tanks. At the time of rotation of 10, a member such as a hose is removed.

Further, inside the water tank 10, an internal impeller mechanism 40 fixed to the outside via a support column 30 is installed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 (d), the columns 30 are arranged at a plurality of positions (eccentric positions) so as to deviate from the central axis of the water tank 10 in a plan view. As an example, the support column 30 is composed of columns 30a and 30b arranged at two locations at the eccentric position of the tank, and the upper end of the support column 30 is fixed inside the water tank 10 by a beam structure (not shown). Further, the lower end of the support column 30 is fixed to the upper end of the internal impeller mechanism 40, and the lower end of the internal impeller mechanism 40 is connected to the fixed pedestal 22 via a support pin 60, a magnet member (not shown), or the like. That is, the internal impeller mechanism 40 has a configuration in which no member exists at the central axis position, and is provided by fixing the water tank 10 having a rotatable configuration so as not to be able to transmit rotation by means of two columns 30a and 30b and a pedestal 22. Has been done. The internal impeller mechanism 40 is also made of a transparent member, for example, made of acrylic resin.

Further, the internal impeller mechanism 40 includes a lower impeller mechanism 40a and an upper impeller mechanism 40b. The lower impeller mechanism 40a is provided with openings 41 (41a, 41b) at two positions facing each other on a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface, and inflow blades 45 (45a, 45b) projecting laterally from the openings 41 are provided. It is formed. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the inflow blades 45a and 45b are configured such that the opening directions of the corresponding openings 41a and 41b are the same along the peripheral surface of the lower impeller mechanism 40a. In the illustrated example, the opening is in the counterclockwise direction (counterclockwise direction) in a plan view. Further, the central portion of the lower impeller mechanism 40a may be divided into a space 42a communicating with the opening 41a and a space 42b communicating with the opening 41b, in which case a partition wall 43 is provided in the central portion. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the tips of the inflow blades 45a and 45b may have a shape such that a tip member having a substantially cylindrical shape is attached.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3C, the upper impeller mechanism 40b is a substantially cylindrical member having no opening or the like on the peripheral surface, and the upper surface thereof is open. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 (d), the lower end of the support column 30 is fixed to the peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical member at the upper end of the upper impeller mechanism 40b.

As described above, the internal impeller mechanism 40 is connected to the fixed pedestal 22 via a support pin 60, a magnet member (not shown), etc., but the lower end thereof is, for example, about 2 mm with respect to the bottom surface of the water tank 10. It is desirable that they are arranged apart from each other with a gap between them. As a result, the water tank 10 is preferably rotated while the internal impeller mechanism 40 is fixed.

Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10, a plurality of plate-shaped water flow generating blades 50 projecting toward the center of the water tank 10 are provided so as to be fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10. The number and position of the water flow generating blades 50 to be installed are arbitrary, but it is preferable that the water flow generating blades 50 are evenly provided at predetermined intervals along the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10 in a plan view. As an example, the water tank 10 may be evenly provided at eight locations on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10 in a plan view as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Further, it may be provided separately at four locations in the height direction of the water tank 10. In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10, four places are located at the tank height position surrounding the lower impeller mechanism 40a, and two places are located at the tank height position surrounding the upper impeller mechanism 40b. , Two places are provided at the tank height position so as to surround the support column 30. Each of the water flow generating blades 50 is a plate-shaped member having a predetermined length in the tank height direction, and has a configuration in which the culture solution inside the tank is agitated following the rotation of the water tank 10. The configuration shown in the figure is an example, and the dimensions, number, position, etc. of the water flow generating blade 50 may be appropriately determined according to the flow of the culture solution inside the water tank 10.

(Culturing method in a stirring culture device)
Next, a method for culturing seaweeds in the stirring culture apparatus 1 configured as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described.
First, with the water tank lid 11 closed and sealed, sterilized seawater is poured into the inside of the water tank 10 by operating the valve V3 of the water injection / drain port 15, and the inside of the water tank 10 is filled with water. At this time, in order to sterilize the seawater and the tank, the sterilizing material may be injected from the injection port 14.

Subsequently, after the water tank 10 is filled with water, purified and sterilized air is injected into the water tank 10 by operating the valve V2 of the injection port 14. At this time, by opening the water injection / drainage port 15, seawater is pushed out by injecting air, and the water level in the tank is adjusted. The water level is preferably about 90%, for example, and as an example, when the total capacity of the water tank 10 is 200 liters, it is desirable that the amount of seawater is about 180 liters.

After adjusting the water level in the tank, the seaweed to be cultivated is put in with only the injection port 14 open, and then all the valves V1 to V4 are closed, and the exhaust port 13, the injection port 14, and the injection / drain port 15 are closed. A member such as a hose attached to the or the like is removed. Then, by driving the power mechanism 25, the water tank 10 is rotated on the rotary table 20. At that time, the internal impeller mechanism 40 is connected to the fixed pedestal 22 and remains fixed without following the rotation of the water tank 10. In addition, culture (photosynthesis) is carried out for a long period of time, for example, for two months, but in the initial stage, since the flow (vortex) of the culture solution is actively applied, the rotation direction is not constant and the rotation is normal. , Stationary, reverse rotation may be repeated at predetermined intervals. Then, the direction of rotation may be constant when the filamentous body of the seaweed has grown to a desired stage. Here, the rotation speed of the water tank 10 can be arbitrarily set according to the type of seaweed to be cultured, but for example, the maximum rotation speed may be 1 rotation / s, and as an example, 0.3 m / s may be used.

After the culture is completed, the rotation speed is gradually reduced while monitoring the flow of the culture solution in the water tank 10, and the driving of the power mechanism 25 is stopped at the stage when the minimum speed is reached. After stopping, a member such as a hose is attached to the exhaust port 13, the injection port 14, the injection / drain port 15, and the like, and the cultured seaweed is taken out from the take-out port 18 together with the drainage of the culture solution.
In the stirring culture apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, seaweeds are cultured in the above flow, and a culture body is obtained.

(Flow of culture solution in agitated culture device)
Next, refer to the drawing regarding the flow of the culture solution (hereinafter, also referred to as water flow or stirring flow) when the water tank 10 is rotated with seawater, seaweed, etc. as the culture solution injected into the stirring culture device 1. I will explain. Here, the stirring flow when the water tank 10 is rotated clockwise (clockwise in FIG. 5) in a plan view from above will be illustrated and described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view for explaining the stirring flow in the water tank, and FIG. 5 is a schematic plan sectional view for explaining the stirring flow in the water tank. 5 (a) to 5 (d) show the AA cross section, the BB cross section, the CC cross section, and the DD cross section in FIG. Regarding each component shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, those having the same functional configuration as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

When the water tank 10 is rotated with the internal impeller mechanism 40 fixed when the culture liquid is full, the stirring flow flows as in 1) to 7) below, and by repeating this, the culture liquid and the culture liquid in the water tank 10 and Seaweed is agitated.
1) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (a), (b), and (d), a water flow p1 that follows the rotation of the water tank 10 is generated around the lower impeller mechanism 40a and around the support column 30.
2) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (a) and 5 (b), the inflow blades 45 (45a, 45b) are formed, so that the inside of the lower impeller mechanism 40a (space 42a) is formed through the openings 41a and 41b. , 42b), a water flow p2 flowing into the water flow p2 is generated.
3) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (a) and 5 (b), the partition wall 43 in the lower impeller mechanism 40a changes the direction of the water flow p2, and an ascending water flow p3 is generated.
4) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (c), as the water pressure in the upper impeller mechanism 40b changes, a water flow p4 which is a continuous ascending flow is generated from the water flow p3.
5) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (d), the water flow flowing out from the upper end opening of the upper impeller mechanism 40b becomes a diffused water flow p5 diffused in the water tank 10.
6) As shown in FIG. 5D, a vortex water flow p6 is generated around the two columns 30a and 30b together with the generation of the diffused water flow p5.
7) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (c), the inflow of the culture solution into the lower impeller mechanism 40a and the flow following the rotation of the water tank 10 follow the rotation of the water tank around the upper impeller mechanism 40b. However, a descending water flow p7 is generated.

The seaweeds in the aquarium 10 are efficiently agitated with the water flow in the aquarium 10 generated as described in 1) to 7) above. The rotation speed of the water tank 10 is as low as 0.3 m / s, and the water flows p1 to p7 are also low speed water flows. In particular, in the upper part of the water tank 10, seaweeds are agitated at a low speed by the mixing action of the vertical and horizontal flows in the water flows p1, p5 and p6 described in 1), 5) and 6) above.

(Action effect)
In the stirring culture apparatus 1 configured as described above, the water tank 10 is rotated and the internal impeller mechanism 40 is fixed, so that the water flows p1 to p7 as described in 1) to 7) above. Can be generated and the seaweeds can be efficiently agitated in the water tank 10 at a low speed. In this configuration, since the water flow in the water tank 10 is not a single flow, it is possible to prevent the seaweeds, which are filamentous bodies, from gathering to form a spherical aggregate, and for photosynthesis to the inside of the tank. Light reaches and the culture speed is improved.

Further, in the stirring culture device 1 according to the present embodiment, a member such as a shaft body is not provided on the rotation shaft (central shaft) of the water tank 10, and the culture solution is not sufficiently stirred around (near) the shaft body. There is no such thing as drifting. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the filamentous seaweed from forming a spherical aggregate due to friction with the shaft body, and the light for photosynthesis reaches the inside of the tank to improve the culture rate.

Furthermore, the inflow blades 45a and 45b provided in the internal impeller mechanism 40 are shaped like a substantially cylindrical tip member attached, and the seaweed inside the water tank 10 is stirred without causing rubbing or twisting. can do. That is, it is possible to prevent and suppress the death of seaweeds due to rubbing and twisting, and to improve the culture efficiency.

Although an example of the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the ideas described in the claims, and these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it is a thing.

For example, in the stirring culture apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the configuration of the columns 30 is described as being composed of columns 30a and 30b arranged at two locations at the eccentric positions of the tank in a plan view. The present invention is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the columns 30 may be provided at various eccentric positions off the central axis of the water tank 10, and the number of columns 30 may be arbitrary. After carefully examining the occurrence status of the water streams p1 to p7 described above, a configuration may be adopted so that seaweeds (filamentous bodies) do not form an aggregate around the support column 30 or the like.
Further, for example, in the stirring culture apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment, the water flow generating blades 50 may be evenly provided at eight locations on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank 10 in a plan view, and four locations in the tank height direction. It is explained that it may be provided separately in (see FIGS. 1 to 3). However, this configuration is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. If the configuration is such that stirring can be efficiently performed after carefully examining the generation status of the above-mentioned water streams p1 to p7. good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the material, dimensions, operating conditions, etc. of the stirring culture device 1 are not described in detail, but in the present invention, these can be suitably determined according to the operation. As an example, it is explained that the water tank 10 and the internal impeller mechanism 40 are composed of acrylic resin, but the water tank 10 and the internal impeller mechanism 40 are light for promoting photosynthesis by seaweeds to be cultured inside. It is not limited to acrylic resin as long as it is a material that can take in. Further, it is explained that the dimensions of the water tank 10 may be, for example, φ500 mm × height 1000 mm, and the capacity may be, for example, about 200 liters, but this can be changed as appropriate, and the type and amount of seaweed to be cultivated. , It may be appropriately determined according to the properties and the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, 0.3 m / s is described as an example of the rotation speed of the water tank 10 in the stirring culture device 1, but this is a value that can be appropriately changed, and the seaweed to be cultured Determined by type, quantity, properties, etc. However, seaweeds have no epidermis and are vulnerable to rubbing and twisting, and when damaged, the internal substances of the algae flow out and die. Therefore, it is desirable to rotate at a low speed of a predetermined flow velocity or less.

The present invention can be applied to a stirring culture device used for artificially stirring and culturing filamentous seedlings for extracting components contained in seaweed.

1 ... Stirring culture device 10 ... Water tank 11 ... Water tank lid 13 ... Exhaust port 14 ... Injection port 15 ... Injection / drain port 18 ... Outlet port 20 ... Rotating table 22 ... Stake 25 ... Power mechanism 30 ... Support 40 ... Internal impeller mechanism 40a ... Lower impeller mechanism 40b ... Upper impeller mechanism 41 (41a, 41b) ... Opening 45 (45a, 45b) ... Inflow wing 50 ... Water flow generating wing 60 ... Support pin p1 to p7 ... Water flow V1 to V4 ... Valve

Claims (3)

It is a stirring culture device that performs stirring culture of seaweed.
A rotatable, substantially cylindrical water tank in which the culture solution and the seaweed to be cultivated are injected and the seaweed is agitated and cultured inside.
An internal impeller mechanism that has a smaller diameter and a lower height than the water tank and is fixed independently of the rotation of the water tank.
A plate-shaped water flow generating wing protruding toward the center of the water tank on the inner peripheral surface of the water tank is provided.
The water tank and the internal impeller mechanism are made of transparent members.
The internal impeller mechanism comprises an upper impeller mechanism having a substantially cylindrical hollow shape and a lower impeller mechanism having openings provided at two facing points on the peripheral surface having a substantially cylindrical hollow shape.
The lower impeller mechanism is formed with an inflow wing protruding laterally from the opening.
The internal impeller mechanism is fixed to the outside of the water tank via a support column at a plurality of locations whose upper ends are eccentric with respect to the center of the water tank .
A stirring culture apparatus, characterized in that a partition wall is provided in the inner center of the lower impeller mechanism to divide the internal space of the lower impeller mechanism into two spaces communicating with each of the two openings . A plurality of the water flow generating blades are provided, and the water flow generating blades are provided.
The stirring culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of water flow generating blades are provided at a plurality of locations evenly at predetermined intervals in a plan view on the inner peripheral surface of the aquarium. A plurality of the water flow generating blades are provided, and the water flow generating blades are provided.
The plurality of water flow generating blades are provided at positions divided into a plurality of locations in the height direction of the water tank.
The stirring culture according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of locations in the water tank height direction include a position surrounding the support column, a position surrounding the upper impeller mechanism, and a position surrounding the lower impeller mechanism. Device.

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