KR101692269B1 - A photobioreactor for mass production of microalgae - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a culture container suitable for culturing a photosynthetic microorganism, which is surrounded by a barrier partitioning the photosynthetic microorganism and environmental water to be cultivated, wherein all or a part of the barrier is composed of a selective permeable barrier; A support table provided at the bottom of the culture container; And a vibrating device composed of a buoyant material that is routed at both ends of the support to float on the water surface.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a photobioreactor for mass production of microalgae,

The present invention relates to a photobioreactor and, more particularly, to a photobioreactor for mass production of microalgae.

Photosynthesis Single cell microorganisms can produce various organic materials such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats through photosynthesis. In recent years, not only the production of high value products such as functional polysaccharides, carotenoids, vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids, but also the main cause of global warming has been evaluated as an optimum organism for the purpose of removing carbon dioxide. Also, there is a great interest in the production of biological energy to replace fossil fuels, which are finite energy sources. This is due to the ability of microalgae to accumulate carbon dioxide in the body to accumulate lipids. Much research has been conducted on the production of bio-energy such as bio-diesel using the accumulated lipids. However, in order to utilize useful products such as the removal of carbon dioxide using microalgae or the production of bioenergy, it is necessary to cultivate a high concentration of photosynthetic microorganisms, a large-scale culture, or a high-concentration large-scale culture. Therefore, it is urgently required to develop culturing technology that can grow at a high concentration even at a low cost, including a technique related to the construction of a large-scale culture facility, and can easily expand the scale.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-0037421 discloses a photobioreactor equipped with a selectively-permeable barrier.

However, in the above-mentioned prior arts, the mesh of the selective permeable barrier is clogged with the lapse of the incubation time, so that the flow rate of the seawater is decreased and the productivity is decreased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a selective permeable barrier-equipped photobioreactor with improved permeability to solve various problems including the above-described problems. However, these problems are exemplary and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

 According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a culture vessel suitable for culturing a photosynthetic microorganism, the culture vessel being surrounded by a barrier partitioning the photosynthetic microorganism and environmental water to be cultivated, wherein all or part of the barrier is composed of a selective permeable barrier; A support table provided at the bottom of the culture container; A buoyant member which is connected to a line at both ends of the support and floats above the water surface; And a vibrating device composed of a weight weight connected to the both ends of the support by a line and immersed under the water surface.

According to one embodiment of the present invention as described above, it is possible to efficiently produce photosynthetic microorganisms using a photobioreactor equipped with a selective permeable barrier having a high water permeability. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a photobioreactor 100 equipped with a selective permeable barrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side view of a photobioreactor 100 equipped with a selective permeable barrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a top view of a photobioreactor 100 equipped with a selective permeable barrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a photograph showing a modification of the vibration device 180 of the photobioreactor 100 equipped with the selective permeable barrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing an experiment for analyzing the growth of photosynthetic microorganisms by a buoyant material and a weight in a photobioreactor 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a photograph showing a buoyant material and a weight in the photobioreactor 100 of the present invention installed on the sea surface by point connection or line connection.
FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the permeability of a buoyancy material 110 inside a photobioreactor 100 of the present invention and a weight weight 130 by means of point connection or line connection.
FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating the growth of photosynthetic microorganisms by a device in which a buoyant 110 and a weight 130 are connected to each other by point connection or line connection in the photobioreactor 100 of the present invention.
9 is a graph showing comparative analysis of permeability by varying the buoyancy / weight ratio of the photobioreactor 100 of the present invention.

Definition of Terms:

As used herein, the term "barrier" refers to a structure that spatially separates the interior of a culture vessel containing photosynthetic microorganisms from the outside of the culture vessel.

As used herein, the term "selective permeability barrier" is defined as a mesh sheet or a perforated sheet, which is not only selectively permeable to specific molecules by osmosis, but also includes water, , But it means that the free diffusion of the cells such as photosynthetic microorganisms is limited, and a part of the cells may pass through the barrier, but the cell concentration does not reach the equilibrium state between the barrier .

As used herein, the term "perforated sheet" refers to a sheet that is perforated by artificially perforating the sheet material, and the sheet material may be a film, and the film may be an impermeable film or a semi- . By perforating the perforated sheet artificially, the same effect as that of the mesh sheet can be provided.

As used herein, the term "microalgae" refers to phytoplankton inhabiting the ocean, and plankton such as cochlearinism, which often causes red tides, is also a microalgae. Microalgae, which focuses on marine bioenergy research, is a species of microalgae that is rich in lipids, that is, oil. The size is about 10 microns (micron, one millionth of a meter) and about one tenth the thickness of the hair.

As used herein, the term "photosynthetic microorganism" refers to algae, red algae, and cyanobacteria capable of photosynthesis, and is generally referred to as Chlorella, Chlamydomonas , Haematococous , Botryococcus , Sene des mousse (Scenedesmus), Spirulina (Spirulina) tetrahydro cell Miss (Tetraselmis) mitdu flying it is cultured and the like Ella (Dunaliella). The microalgae produce carotenoids, fungi, pycobiliproteins, lipids, carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids and proteins in a culture vessel.

As used herein, the term "opening size" refers to the size of the space between the weft and the warp interlaced on the mesh structure or the size of the perforations in the perforated sheet.

As used in this document, the term "environmental water" means the water in the space in which the biochemical reactors of the invention have been introduced and cultivated, and includes the water in artificial water reservoirs or ponds, including seawater, .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [

 According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a culture vessel suitable for culturing a photosynthetic microorganism, the culture vessel being surrounded by a barrier partitioning the photosynthetic microorganism and environmental water to be cultivated, wherein all or part of the barrier is composed of a selective permeable barrier; A support table provided at the bottom of the culture container; And a vibrating device composed of a buoyant material that is connected to the both ends of the support by a line and floats above the water surface.

In the photobioreactor, an oscillating device may be further comprised of a weight connected to the ends of the support by a line and locked to the surface of the water.

In the photobioreactor, the selective permeable barrier may be made of a biodegradable polymer or a refractory polymer. The biodegradable polymer may be selected from the group consisting of poly (epsilon-caprolactone), poly lactic acid, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), cellulose, methyl But are not limited to, cellulose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose, curdlan, polyglutamic acid, polylysine, Polyglycolic acid, or polyester, and the refractory polymer may be selected from the group consisting of teflon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyolefine, Polyamides, polyacrylates, silicones, poly methly methacrylates, polystyrenes, ethylene-vinyl alcohols, and the like. Poly (vinyl chloride), poly (vinyl fluoride), poly (vinyl imidazole), chlorosulphonate (chlorosulphonate), poly polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon, low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), acryl, polyetheretherketone, For example, polyimide, polycarbonate, polyurethane, or poly (ethylene oxide).

In the photobioreactor, the support may have a linear or rod-like shape, and the support may be made of metal, wood, plastic, rubber, glass or rock.

At least one or more of the buoyancy members may be connected to both ends of the support member to maintain the buoyancy and the buoyancy member may be connected to both ends of the support member at the same time. The buoyancy member may be a styrofoam, .

The weights may be connected to both ends of the supporter at the same time, but may maintain the equidistance from both ends, and the culture container may be an open culture container with an open top.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments of the present invention are described in order to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the following embodiments may be modified into various other forms, The present invention is not limited to the embodiment. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be more thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thickness and size of each layer are exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

It is to be understood that throughout the specification, when an element such as a film, region or substrate is referred to as being "on", "connected to", "laminated" or "coupled to" another element, It will be appreciated that elements may be directly "on", "connected", "laminated" or "coupled" to another element, or there may be other elements intervening therebetween. On the other hand, when one element is referred to as being "directly on", "directly connected", or "directly coupled" to another element, it is interpreted that there are no other components intervening therebetween do. A uniform code refers to a uniform element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or portions, these members, components, regions, layers and / It is obvious that no. These terms are only used to distinguish one member, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer or section described below may refer to a second member, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Also, relative terms such as "top" or "above" and "under" or "below" can be used herein to describe the relationship of certain elements to other elements as illustrated in the Figures. Relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device by adding weight to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, in the figures the elements are turned over so that the elements depicted as being on the top surface of the other elements are oriented on the bottom surface of the other elements. Thus, the example "top" may include both "under" and "top" directions depending on the particular orientation of the figure. If the elements are oriented in different directions (rotated 90 degrees with respect to the other direction), the relative descriptions used herein can be interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include singular forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, " comprise "and / or" comprising "when used herein should be interpreted as specifying the presence of stated shapes, numbers, steps, operations, elements, elements, and / And does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, operations, elements, elements, and / or groups.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings schematically showing ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the figures, for example, variations in the shape shown may be expected, depending on manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of the regions illustrated herein, but should include, for example, changes in shape resulting from manufacturing.

1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a photobioreactor 100 equipped with a selective permeable barrier according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom surface of the photobioreactor 100 is composed of a selective permeable barrier 150 to spatially distinguish the photosynthetic microorganisms and environmental water to be cultivated. The selective permeable barrier (150) is characterized in that the water, gas and nutrients can be freely admitted and freed, and free diffusion of the photosynthetic microorganisms is blocked. In addition, by allowing the influx of environmental water, wastes discharged from the supply of nutrients required for growth of photosynthetic microorganisms and the growth process of photosynthetic microorganisms can be removed together with the environmental water. This eliminates the need for separate nutrition and purification devices, thus providing cost, time and labor savings. In addition, as the supply of carbon dioxide and the evolution of oxygen required in the photosynthesis process of the photosynthetic microorganism can be made through the selective permeable barrier 150 and the photosynthetic microorganism is cultivated in a restrictive culture container that can be managed, It is possible to prevent environmental pollution and it is easy to harvest a large amount of photosynthetic microorganisms. Particularly, in the photobioreactor 100 equipped with the selective permeable barrier 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the buoyancy of the inside (not shown) is connected to the weight (not shown) As the culture time passes, the mesh of the selective permeable barrier is clogged by the photosynthetic microorganisms or other suspended substances, thereby drastically improving the problem that the flow rate of the environmental water is reduced and the productivity is decreased. The description thereof will be described in detail in Figs. The environmental water may be seawater, fresh water, water, or water transferred from a separate reservoir.

The selective permeable barrier 150 is characterized in that water, nutrients, gases, and excrements of photosynthetic microorganisms can freely flow in and out, and free diffusion of photosynthetic microorganisms is blocked. The selectively permeable barrier 150 may be made of a polymeric fiber, and the polymer may be a biodegradable polymer or a refractory polymer. Examples of the biodegradable polymer include poly (epsilon-caprolactone), poly lactic acid, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), cellulose, Cellulose derivatives such as methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose, curdlan, polyglutamic acid, polylysine, For example, polyhydroxy alkanoate, polyethylen glycol, poly (glycolic acid), or polyester.

The refractory polymer may be selected from the group consisting of teflon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyolefine, polyamides, polyacrylate, silicon, poly methly methacrylate, polystyrene, poly (vinyl chloride), poly (vinyl fluoride), poly (vinyl imidazole), poly (vinylidene chloride), polystyrene, polystyrene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyethylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, polyamide, Polyolefin, chlorosulphonate polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon, low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), acryl, Polyetheretherketone, polyimide, polycarbonate, polyurethane, or the like. Polyethylene oxide (poly (ethylene oxide)) can be, but is a free passage of gas, water, nutrients accepted as perforated sheet if the material that is the free diffusion of the photosynthetic microorganism may also be used which would cut off.

 The shape of the photobioreactor 100 may be generally circular, elliptical, conical, or cylindrical, but any shape can be used as long as it can accommodate photosynthetic microorganisms. In addition, all or a part of the barrier of the photobioreactor 100 may be made of a selective permeable barrier, and it may be manufactured using a transparent or semitransparent material which is impermeable or semipermeable to maintain a three-dimensional shape and floating. For example, when one end surface of a plastic container containing a photosynthetic microorganism is sealed using the selective permeable barrier 150, it may float near the sea surface due to buoyancy of the plastic container.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a photobioreactor 100 according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a vibration device 180 for generating vibration by the inflow of environmental water into and out of the photobioreactor 100 is provided. The vibrating device 180 has a structure in which a buoyant material 110 is installed by an upper connecting line 115 connected from both ends of an upper portion of a support 120 installed on a bottom surface of the photobioreactor 100, The weight weights 130 are connected by the lower connection lines 115 connected from both ends of the bottom of the photobioreactor 100 to support the lower portion of the photobioreactor 100. The material of the support may be metal, wood, plastic, rubber, glass or rock, and any material capable of supporting the vibration device 180 may be used.

The vibrating device 180 is constructed such that the buoyant material 110 is connected to the weight 130 disposed under the photobioreactor 100 through the support 120 so that the wave passes through the photobioreactor 100 When the float of the culture fluid in the photobioreactor is waved and the floor of the wave passes, the buoyant material 110 picks up the selective permeable barrier 150, and when the wave crest passes, 150 are oscillated so that the selective permeable barrier 150 vibrates in whole or in part, thereby inducing dispersion of floating substances or microalgae cells that have blocked the mesh and delaying accumulation of the mesh, The permeability of water and nutrients is maintained to be much higher than that of conventional photobioreactors in which no photosensitizing microorganisms are installed, It represents an. The photobioreactor 100 is designed to float on the surface of the water by the vibrating device 180 or a separate lifting means or to sink to a predetermined depth below the water surface by a sedimentation means Access is smooth.

FIG. 2 shows two buoyant materials 110 and a weight 130 installed for the purpose of understanding the structure of the photobioreactor 100 of the present invention. a plurality of buoyant materials 110 and a weight 130 may be installed according to the environmental conditions such as the velocity of flow and the depth of water or the size or structure of the photobioreactor to maximize the effect of the present invention. A modified example thereof will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of a photobioreactor 100 according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper structure of the photobioreactor 100 includes a rectangular structural surface 140 for blocking inflow of environmental water, and a support base 120 (not shown) for connecting the buoyant material 110 and the buoyant material 110 ). The position of the buoyancy material 110 can be installed in the horizontal bi-directional, vertical bi-directional, diagonal direction or center of the inside of the photobioreactor 100 on a plane, but in order to improve the effect of the present invention, It is installable. The material of the buoyant material 110 may be either transparent or opaque materials that maintain buoyancy when the environmental water is introduced. However, when the material is used as a transparent material, the effect of helping the light penetrate deeply into the culture medium, It is possible to increase light utilization efficiency and productivity per area. The buoyant 110 may be made of a material such as styrofoam, buoys, wood chips, a transparent glass tube, or a plastic can as a buoyancy holding means. The buoyancy material 110 may be made of teflon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyolefine, but are not limited to, polyamides, polyacrylates, silicones, poly methly methacrylates, polystyrenes, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyethylene-maleic anhydride copolymers, polyamides polyamide, poly (vinyl chloride), poly (vinyl fluoride), poly (vinyl imidazole), chlorosulphonate polyolefin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nylon, low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), acrylic polyetheretherketone, polyimide, polycarbonate, polyurethane, or poly (ethylene oxide). < RTI ID = 0.0 >

FIG. 4 shows a modification in which the vibration device 180 of the photobioreactor 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention is point-connected or line-connected. The first vibrator 180a is connected to the center of the photobioreactor 100 by one boom member 110 and a lower connection line 135 connected to each other by the upper connecting line 115 from both ends of the short supporting member 120, And a weight 130. The second vibrating device 180b is configured in such a manner that a buoyant material 110 is installed on two short support rods 120 installed in both vertical directions and a weight weight 130 is connected to each of the lower portions. The third vibrating device 180c includes a buoyant material 110 installed vertically and bi-directionally and the buoyant material 110 and the weight 130 are connected to the support 120 in a linear manner and the fourth vibrating device 180d is connected to the buoyant material 110 are installed in both lateral directions and the buoyant member 110 and the weight 130 are connected to the support 120 in a linear manner. Since the support member 120 of the fourth vibrating device 180d is provided with the buoyancy material 110 in both lateral directions, the length of the support member 120 is much shorter than the support member 120 of the third vibration device 180c. The purpose of the vibration device 180 is to increase the productivity of the photosynthetic microorganism by improving the permeability of the nutrient or increasing the permeability according to the influx of environmental water, so that it can be changed into another structure according to installation environment conditions. The greatest difference between the vibrating devices 180 of FIG. 4 is the presence of a support 120 connecting between the buoyant 110 and the weight 130, and how this difference affects the permeability. .

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through experimental examples. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but is capable of other various forms of implementation. The following examples are intended to be illustrative of the present invention, Is provided to fully inform the user.

Experimental Example 1: Measurement of permeability of photosynthetic microorganisms

The photobioreactor 100 prepared according to one embodiment of the present invention was installed directly on the sea surface to observe whether the permeability was improved.

Specifically, the experimental group is classified into a point connection test group in which the vibration device 180 is connected by a point, a line connection test group in which the vibration device 180 is connected by a line, and a control group in which no device is installed, The photobioreactor 100 was fabricated (Fig. 5). Tetracellis species, a kind of photosynthetic microorganism, was added to the photobioreactor 100 at a concentration of 1 g / L, and the solution was placed on the sea surface before the experiment (FIG. 6). The permeability of the photobioreactor 100 was evaluated by measuring the amount of the culture solution remaining in the post-photobioreactor 100 for about 10 minutes, and the experiment was repeated six times.

As a result, it was observed that the permeability of the point connection experiment group and the line connection experiment group in which the vibration device 180 was connected by the point was improved by 31% and 60%, respectively, as compared with the control. Accordingly, the photo-bioreactor 100, in which the vibration device 180 according to one embodiment of the present invention is point-connected or pre-connected, maintains and increases the permeability and thus has the effect of increasing photosynthetic microorganism productivity 8). In addition, the buoyancy / weight ratio of the buoyant 110 installed on the vibrating device 180 and the weight 130 were different, and the permeability was compared and analyzed. In Experiment A, only the buoyant material 110 was installed without the weight 130. In the experiment B, the ratio of buoyancy to weight was 5: 1. In the C experiment, the ratio of buoyancy to weight was adjusted to 1: 1 to evaluate the permeability .

As a result, there was no significant difference in permeability according to the above classification (FIG. 9).

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. will be. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: photobioreactor
110: buoyant material
120: Support
Weight 130
140: Structural surface
150: Selective permeable barrier
180: Vibrating device

Claims (12)

A culture vessel for culture of photosynthetic microorganisms, the culture vessel being surrounded by a barrier for partitioning the photosynthetic microorganism and environmental water to be cultivated, wherein all or part of the barrier is composed of a selective permeable barrier;
A linear or rod-shaped support provided on a bottom surface of the culture container; And
And a vibrating device composed of a buoyant material that is routed at both ends of the support to rise above the water surface. A culture vessel for culture of photosynthetic microorganisms, the culture vessel being surrounded by a barrier for partitioning the photosynthetic microorganism and environmental water to be cultivated, wherein all or part of the barrier is composed of a selective permeable barrier;
A linear or rod-shaped support provided on a bottom surface of the culture container;
A buoyant member which is connected to a line at both ends of the support and floats above the water surface; And
And a vibrating device further comprising a weight connected to the ropes at both ends of the support to lock down the water surface. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the selective permeable barrier is made of a biodegradable polymer or a refractory polymer. The method of claim 3,
The biodegradable polymer may be selected from the group consisting of poly (epsilon-caprolactone), poly lactic acid, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), cellulose, methyl But are not limited to, cellulose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose, curdlan, polyglutamic acid, polylysine, Polyhydroxy alkanoate, polyethylen glycol, poly (glycolic acid) or polyester. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 12 > The method of claim 3,
The refractory polymer may be selected from the group consisting of teflon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyolefine, polyamides, polyacrylate, silicon, poly methly methacrylate, polystyrene, , Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyethylene-maleic anhydride copolymers, polyamides, poly (vinyl chloride), poly (vinyl fluoride), poly (vinyl imidazole) (HDPE), acryl, polyetherketone (HDPE), polyetherketone (PET), nylon, low density polyethylene (LDPE) a polyetheretherketone, a polyimide, a polycarbonate, a polyurethane, or a polyethyl Poly (ethylene oxide). ≪ / RTI > delete 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the material of the support is metal, wood, plastic, rubber, glass, rope or rock. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein at least one or more of the buoyant members are respectively connected to both ends of the support member to maintain buoyancy. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the buoyancy material is simultaneously connected to both ends of the support member. 10. The method of claim 9,
The buoyant material is styrofoam, buoys, wood chips, transparent glass tubes or plastic tubes, photobioreactors. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the weights are connected at both ends of the support and at the same distance from both ends. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the culture container is an open culture container with an open top.

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