KR101222145B1 - Photobioreactor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A photo bioreactor using sunlight is provided to trace and collect sunlight, and to enhance microalgae productivity. CONSTITUTION: A photo bioreactor(10) using sunlight is mounted at a support frame(11) in a predetermined interval. The photo bioreactor comprises: an inlet port(21) which microalgae and a culture medium flow in; a plate-shaped photo bioreaction container(20) with a culture medium storage space for culturing the microalgae; a light collecting unit(30) which is mounted at the support frame and collects the sunlight; and an optical fiber unit(40) which is connected to a condenser lens(31) of the light collecting unit and contains optical fibers(41).

Description

 Photobioreactor using sunlight

The present invention relates to an optical bioreactor for mass cultivation of microalgae, and more particularly, to an optical bioreactor using solar light having an improved light irradiation structure using solar light and a light emitting diode.

Recently, as industrial emission CO₂ is pointed out as the main culprit of global warming, researches are actively underway to utilize microalgae to fix CO₂.

Microalgae can play a role in the treatment of wastewater, immobilization of carbon dioxide, etc., due to their various capabilities, and have been used for the production of useful substances such as fuels, cosmetics, feed, food coloring and pharmaceutical raw materials. In the meantime, useful and high value added substances are constantly being discovered and expanding their applications.

There are many factors such as the composition of the medium, temperature, pH, and brightness as it affects the increase in biomass and useful products of microalgae, but among them, light accounts for the largest portion of photosynthetic algae. In general, a device for culturing photosynthetic microalgae for the purpose of immobilizing carbon dioxide can be largely divided into a mass culture (open system) and a photobioreactor (closed system) outdoors. Outdoor mass cultivation apparatus including pond type has been mainly used in the form of reaction facilities such as lakes or large ponds and is commercially available in some countries.

However, this type of cultivation facility has the advantages of low initial investment and easy maintenance, but it is difficult to contaminate, isolate and purify, low cell concentration, high mass (especially nitrogen source), high water quality and quantity demand, and irregular climate. Due to problems such as conditions, expensive labor costs, the installation is extremely limited. In particular, the effective growth of light is not achieved inside the culture apparatus, the growth rate of the cells is low, the growth yield of the cells is low, and a large installation space is required to remove a large amount of carbon dioxide.

In order to solve the problems of such an outdoor mass culture apparatus, a high-concentration culture is carried out through a small-sized reactor to produce an amount equal to or greater than that of the outdoor mass culture apparatus, .

Currently developed forms include general stirred reactors, plate reactors, tubular reactors, column reactors, etc., and in all these types of reactors, efficient transmission of light is the most important point in reactor design. When the concentration of microalgae cells is low, medium and gas injection are the most important factors for cell proliferation, but when the high concentration is reached, the brightness is the most important factor. This is because the higher the concentration, the shorter the light transmission length.

That is, the light applied while the microalgae is incubated becomes more and more bulky as the microalgae grows, so that the microalgae on the surface of the reactor can continue to receive light, but the microalgae inside the reactor are microalgae on the surface. Because of the shadow effect will not be able to receive enough light to grow. However, most of the microalgae photobioreactors designed to date do not overcome this point, and thus the production efficiency thereof is lower than that of other microbial bioreactors. To overcome this and to transmit light efficiently. Recently, photobioreactors using internal light sources have been studied. Widely used photobioreactors include tubular photoreactors and vertical columnar photobioreactors that use sunlight as an external light source. The reactor has a structure in which the narrow and long rectangular or cylindrical pipes are densely adhered to circulate the culture in order to maximize the irradiation area exposed to sunlight and to shorten the light transmission distance into the culture.

Such photobioreactors have advantages and disadvantages in their respective forms. In particular, the reactor using the fiber as the internal light source has a good light efficiency, but there is a problem that the cells adhere to the surface of the optical fiber. In addition, when only an artificial light source such as a fluorescent lamp is used as the internal light source, there is a problem in that it is not efficient in terms of energy production because of excessive use of electricity (energy).

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent No. 0933741 discloses a photobioreactor for culturing microalgae. The published reactor uses LEDs and flexible LEDs and has a structure in which the light source is directly in contact with the culture solution. In such a structure, micro algae are attached to the surface of the light source, thereby reducing light efficiency.

In addition, the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2009-0055170 discloses a cylindrical photobioreactor, and the Republic of Korea Patent No. 0897019 discloses a photobiological reactor for high efficiency microalgae culture. This reactor has a structure in which sunlight is irradiated to the photobioreactor using a reflective collector and an optical fiber. US Patent Application No. 2009/0211150 discloses a technical configuration for producing biomass and biodiesel by culturing microalgae Gloella in high concentration using a tubular photobioreactor, and US Patent Application No. 2005/0255584 In order to improve the light efficiency, a tubular photobioreactor having a surface area increased while using a partition of a transparent material is disclosed.

U.S. Patent No. 595876 discloses a tubular photobioreactor using a complex parabolic concentrator to improve the light collection efficiency of sunlight.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, focusing the sunlight using optical elements such as lenses, mirrors, and transmitted using an optical fiber, the reaction vessel for culturing microalgae using a lens unit or a flat light guide plate It is possible to increase the design freedom of equipment for irradiating sunlight to the reaction vessel by irradiating to the reaction vessel, and to provide an optical bioreactor using sunlight that can increase the productivity of microalgae by maximizing light irradiation efficiency and light distribution uniformity. have.

Photovoltaic reactor using a photovoltaic reactor of the present invention for achieving the above object is a plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel is installed at predetermined intervals to allow microalgae to be cultured therein; A light converging unit installed on the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel and condensing sunlight, and an optical fiber connected to the condensing unit to irradiate light to the photobioreaction vessel and irradiating the condensed light to the reaction vessel; An optical fiber unit is provided.

In the present invention, the optical fiber unit is installed to correspond to the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel, and is provided with a light guide plate connected to the optical fiber connected to the condensing unit to irradiate the optical bioreactor with light guided through the optical fiber. And a lamp module installed at an edge of the light guide plate to irradiate light to the photobioreaction vessel through the light guide plate.

In addition, the end of the optical fiber may be further provided with a lens unit for diffusing light. The lens unit includes condensing lens units for condensing sunlight, a frame for supporting the condensing lens units, and an IR filter is installed on an upper surface of each condensing lens unit. The light reflector may include a first reflector for reflecting light toward the aligned optical fiber side, and a second reflector for condensing sunlight to focus on the first reflector.

The photobioreactor using solar light according to the present invention can condense solar light and then guide light using fiber to irradiate the photobioreactor, thereby increasing the design freedom of the facility. And the photobioreactor collects while tracking the sun, and can be irradiated to the photobioreactor using the concentrated light and the light emitting diode can increase the productivity of the microalgae.

1 is a perspective view of an optical bioreactor using sunlight according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of an optical bioreactor using sunlight according to the present invention,
3 is a partial ablation perspective view showing an extracting unit,
4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a light collecting unit;
5 is a perspective view showing an extracting light collecting unit and an optical fiber unit;
6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of a light converging unit and an optical fiber unit;
7 and 8 are front views showing a state in which the optical fiber and the lamp module is installed on the light guide plate.

1 to 4 show an optical bioreactor using sunlight according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the photobioreactor 10 using the solar light of the present invention is installed at a predetermined interval on the support frame 11, the microalgae and the inlet port 21 through which the culture solution is introduced is fine inside Plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessels 20 having a culture solution storage space therein so that algae can be cultured, a light condensing unit 30 installed on the support frame 11 for condensing the sunlight, and the light condensing unit And an optical fiber unit 40 having an optical fiber 41 for irradiating the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel 20 with the light collected and connected to the condenser lens 31 of the apparatus 30.

In addition, a carbon dioxide supply unit 70 and an oxygen supply unit 75 are connected to the photobiological reaction vessel 20 to supply carbon dioxide into the photobiological reaction vessel 20. In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the reaction vessel 20 is connected to a seed culture medium and a seed supply unit for supplying and discharging the culture solution and the microalgae seed, and the reaction vessel is connected to the microalgae reservoir and the microalgae. The reservoir is connected to the microalgal pretreatment tank.

The photobiological reaction vessel 20 may be made of tempered glass or acrylic-based material which is substantially excellent in light transmission and mechanical strength, and is provided with a culture space (not shown) for culturing microalgae therein. The culture space may be composed of a plurality of chambers, the chambers are interconnected structure. In addition, irregularities may be formed to widen the surface area of the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel 20, and a predetermined pattern may be formed for condensing and scattering light. On the other hand, the inner surface of the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel 20 may be formed with a coating film made of titanium oxide (TiO₂), etc. in order to prevent the microalgae adhere to the inside of the reaction vessel. In addition, the partition plate partitioning the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel 20 into a plurality of chambers is preferably formed in the shape of an inclined braid so that the water in the reaction vessel can be circulated by the lifting force of the bubbles. The condensing unit 30 has a condensing lens 31 installed on the support frame 11, which condenses the light through the optical fiber to the photobioreactor with negative power. It can be configured by combining a lens and a lens having a positive power. The condenser lens may be formed of a cylindrical Fresnel lens (cylindrical type fresnel) or a TIR-concentrator, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and condenses sunlight to an optical fiber side. Any structure can be used. An IR filter is installed between the condenser lens or the optical fiber and the optical fiber or at the inlet side of the optical fiber to block infrared rays, which do not contribute to photosynthesis, and which can degrade the optical fiber through heat generation.

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The condensing lens 31 of the condensing unit 30 is supported by a hopper shaped housing 32 as shown in FIG. 3, and the light condensed from the condensing lens 31 below the housing 32. A first optical fiber fixing module 33 is provided to support one end of the optical fiber 41, that is, each end of the optical fibers on the side corresponding to the condensing lens. An auxiliary reflecting plate (not shown) may be installed on the inner surface of the housing 32 to collect the scattered light collected from the condenser lens 31 and injected into the inner wall of the housing to an end of the optical fiber.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4, the light collecting unit 30 collects the light reflecting member 35 installed around the optical fiber 41 and the light collected by the light reflecting member 35. It is provided with a unit reflecting member 36 for reflecting to the optical fiber 41 located on the () side. The light irradiated from the unit reflecting member may be directly irradiated to the photobioreactor.

The light converging unit 30 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be any structure that can condense sunlight and irradiate the end of the optical fiber.

In addition, the tracking unit 50 may be further provided on the support frame 11 to track the light collecting unit 30 along the sun. The tracking unit 50 is for tracking the light converging unit in the east-west and north-south direction along the sun, and as shown in FIG. 1, one side (front side, south side) of the support frame 11 is hinge shaft 51. The sub-frame 52 coupled to and rotatably installed, and on the support frame 11 on the other side (back side, north side direction) corresponding to the hinge shaft 51 to raise and lower the sub-frame 52. A first actuator 53 for adjusting the angle of the subframe 52 is provided. The first actuator 53 may be formed of a screw jack or a lead screw driven by a motor. In addition, the rotation frame 54 is rotatably installed in the sub-frame 52 in the north-south direction. The condensing frame 54 is provided with the condensing unit, that is, the condensing lens 30.

 In addition, a link 55 is installed on each of the rotation shafts 54a of the rotation frames 54 rotatably installed in the subframe 52, and the links 55 are hinged by the connecting link 56 and the hinge pin. A second actuator 57 is installed at one end of the connection link 56 so that the light collecting unit 30 installed in the rotation frame can follow the east-west direction by moving forward and backward. The second actuator may be made of a jackscrew having a lead screw which is rotated forward and backward by a motor as described above. The tracking unit is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be any structure as long as the tracking unit 30 can be tracked along the sun.

On the other hand, the optical fiber unit 40 is capable of irradiating the light biological reaction vessel 20 through the optical fiber 41 to the light collected by the light collecting unit, as shown in Figure 5 at the end of the optical fiber 41 A lens unit 43 may be installed to diffuse and collect the collected light onto the photobioreactor. The lens unit 43 includes a lens housing 43a provided at an end of the optical fiber, and lenses 43b provided to the lens housing for focusing or diffusing light guided through the optical fiber.

And the end of the optical fiber 41 of the optical fiber unit 40 is connected to the edge of the light guide plate 45 which is installed to correspond to the optical bioreaction vessel 20 as shown in FIG. The reaction vessel 20 is irradiated through the light guide plate 45. Here, the optical fibers may be further provided with a shutter for controlling the amount of light passing therethrough. The shutter is configured so that lenses having different transmittances are installed in a rotatable body rotatably installed inside the main body to adjust the amount of light according to the selected lens.

6 to 8, the lamp module 60, which is a light source, is installed at an edge of the light guide plate 45 to increase light quantity or irradiate light regardless of the weather. A diffusion pattern 46 is formed on at least one side of the light guide plate 45 to scatter or reflect the optical fiber or the light emitted from the lamp module 60 to the front side. The diffusion pattern 46 may be formed on a rear surface of the light guide plate 45 using a reflective pattern formed using ink or may be formed on the rear surface of the light guide plate 45 by a laser beam or mechanical processing. The diffusion pattern 46 may be formed by forming a groove (eg, a V-shaped groove) in a predetermined pattern on a rear surface of the light guide plate 45. The groove forming pattern may include a scroll shape, a grid shape, a shape of an overlapping polygon, and horizontal or vertical grooves having different pitches. The diffusion pattern 46 formed on the light guide plate 45 is formed in the shape of a glitch (formed to increase the pattern of the lattice) from the edge formed in the lattice shape and the center portion, i.e., the edge where the lamp module 60 is installed. desirable.

 In addition, a reflecting plate 47 may be installed on the rear surface of the light guide plate 45 to reflect the light irradiated from the optical fiber and the lamp module 60 onto the rear surface of the light guide plate 45, and the front surface of the light guide plate 45 may be provided. In order to make the illuminance of light irradiated from each site constant, a diffusion plate (not shown) may be attached. The light guide plate may be made of transparent synthetic resin, glass, quartz, and the like.

And the lamp module 60 is installed on the edge of the light guide plate 45 is installed on both sides of the light guide plate 45, as shown in Figure 6, the first lamp module (installed on the side of the light guide plate 45 ( 61 and a second lamp module 62 installed at an edge or a lower surface thereof. The first and second lamp modules 61 and 62 have substantially the same structure, and each of the circuit boards 61a and 62a having the same width as that of the side or bottom surface of the light guide plate 51, and The light emitting diodes 61b and 62b are provided on the circuit boards 61a and 62a at predetermined intervals to irradiate light from the edge of the light guide plate 51.

Here, an inlet groove (not shown) is formed in the side and bottom of the light guide plate 51 corresponding to the light emitting diodes 61b and 62b so that the light is guided by inserting the light emitting diodes 61b and 62b into the lead groove. It is preferable not to scatter to the periphery of the edge, and it is preferable to form irregularities for scattering light on the inner surface of the inlet groove.

The lamp module for irradiating light to the light guide plate 45 is not limited to the above-described embodiment and may use cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). In this case, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp in close contact with the edge of the light guide plate 45 and a reflective member may be provided to surround the edge of the light guide plate to prevent light emitted from the cold cathode fluorescent lamp from being irradiated to a region other than the light guide plate.

When the light guide plate 45 is positioned between the photobiological reaction vessels 20, a plurality of light guide plates 45 may be installed to be irradiated to each photobiological reactor 20.

Light irradiated from the optical fiber 41 or the lamp module 60 to the edge of the light guide plate 45 coupled to the optical fiber 41 or the edge of the lamp module 60 and the light guide plate 45 into the light guide plate 45. Diffusion lens portions (not shown) may be formed to diverge.

The photobiological reaction vessel 10 of the present invention configured as described above has the light irradiated to the light collecting unit 30 installed on the upper side of the reaction vessel 20 from the sunrise time to the sunset time, that is, when the sun is floating. After the light is collected by the light collecting unit 30, the light is irradiated to the photoreaction vessel 41 through the optical fiber 41 or through the edge of the light guide plate 45. The light irradiated onto the light guide plate 45 through the optical fiber 41 is guided through the light guide plate 51 and is reflected by the light guide pattern formed on the light guide plate and diffused to the reaction vessel side. In particular, since a reflecting plate is provided on the rear surface of the light guide plate 45, light loss can be reduced by reflecting the light irradiated to the rear surface of the light guide plate toward the front side.

In particular, the photobiological reaction vessel 41 can be irradiated directly through the lens unit 43 installed at the end of the optical fiber, in this case, the light to each portion of the photobiological reaction vessel 20 through the lens unit 43 Can be irradiated uniformly.

In addition, since the weather is weak or the rainy season, sunlight is weak, the light emitting diode of the lamp module 60 installed on the side of the light guide plate 45 emits light, and the light irradiated from the light emitting diode is transferred through the light guide plate 45. 20). Therefore, irrespective of external conditions, light can be irradiated continuously to the photobiological reaction vessel 20 so that the microalgae can be cultured using the photobiological reaction vessel 20. In more detail, the light is irradiated to the photobiological reaction vessel 20 by using a light collecting unit and a light guide plate during the day when the sun is normal, and in the absence of the sun, the light guide plate 51 side of the light irradiation unit 50 is provided. The first and second lamp modules 61 and 62 installed in the light irradiate light to the photoreaction vessel 20. In the daytime when the sunlight is weak, the light collecting unit 30, the optical fiber, and the light guide plate 45 are irradiated with light. ) And the lamp module 60 installed on the side of the light guide plate can always supply constant light energy to the reaction vessel 20 inside the reaction vessel.

The light converging unit 30 may adjust or slide the angle according to the altitude of the sun by the tracking means, thereby preventing the focusing position from the light guide plate according to the altitude of the sun. In particular, since the light collected by the light collecting unit 30 can be irradiated through the optical fiber, it can be designed and constructed without being restricted by the installation position of the photobioreactor.

As described above, the photobiological reactor using solar light according to the present invention collects sunlight, and irradiates the photobioreaction vessel with the collected light through an optical fiber, whereby the installation position of the photobioreaction vessel is free and the irradiation of sunlight is performed. Increase the degree of freedom of design for In addition, the light distribution uniformity can be maximized by irradiating the photobioreactor using a lens unit or a light guide plate, and the amount of light irradiated to the photobiological reaction vessel can be easily controlled, so that the production of the microalgae at high concentration can be easily controlled. The spatial efficiency can be increased.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

10; Photobioreactor
11; Main frame
30; condensing unit
40; Fiber optic unit
50; tracking unit
60; Lamp module

Claims (8)

A plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel installed at predetermined intervals to allow microalgae to be cultured therein; A light condensing unit installed on the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessels for condensing sunlight, and connected to a light condensing unit for irradiating light to one side of the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel, and the condensed light An optical fiber unit having an optical fiber for irradiating the reaction vessel,
The optical fiber unit is installed on the outer side of the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel so as to correspond to the side of the plate-shaped photobiological reaction vessel, and is connected to the optical fiber connected to the condensing unit to guide light guided through the optical fiber to the outside of the photobiological reaction vessel. A light guide plate for irradiating at and a lamp module installed at an edge of the light guide plate to irradiate light to the reaction vessel through the light guide plate,
The condensing unit includes condensing lenses for belonging to sunlight and a frame for supporting the condensing lenses, and an IR filter is installed on an upper surface of each condensing lens. delete delete The method of claim 1,
An optical bioreactor using sunlight, wherein a diffusion pattern for reflecting light is formed on a front surface or a rear surface of the light guide plate. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The light concentrating unit includes a unit reflecting member for reflecting light toward the aligned optical fiber side, and a condensing reflecting member for condensing sunlight and condensing the light toward the unit reflecting member. The method of claim 1,
An optical bioreactor using solar light, further comprising an IR filter installed between the light collecting unit and the optical fiber.

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