KR101753000B1 - Apparatus for culturing micro algae - Google Patents

Abstract

Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a microalgae culture apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus capable of culturing microalgae in water by photosynthesis.
The microalgae culturing apparatus provided as one embodiment of the present invention includes a condenser for collecting sunlight, an optical transmission member for transmitting the condensed light in the condenser, and a culture member for culturing the microalgae using light transmitted from the optical transmission member .

Description

{APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICRO ALGAE}

Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a microalgae culture apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus capable of culturing microalgae in water by photosynthesis.

Recently, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is continuously increasing due to the acceleration of industrialization, and the problem of climate change due to global warming is getting worse around the world. As a result, countries around the world are establishing long-term energy policies to reduce oil use and replace limited energy with renewable energy.

Among them, microalgae have been evaluated as an organism that helps to green growth by removing carbon dioxide. It can be utilized for the production of bio energy such as bio diesel using accumulated lipids, and is attracting attention as a biofuel to replace fossil fuels.

In general, algae vary in single cell type, cluster type, filamentous type, leaf type, and huge multicellular type. Microalgae synthesize various organic materials by using carbon dioxide, water and solar energy through photosynthesis. However, in order to utilize microalgae to remove carbon dioxide and bio-fuel-related industries, it is necessary to cultivate microalgae in a high concentration or in a large amount.

However, the conventionally developed microalgae culture facility (photobioreactor) can be installed only on the surface of sea water in order to utilize the sunlight, so that it takes up a wide area of installation, corrosion by waves, (Photobioreactor), and the like.

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0037421 Patent Document 2: Korean Patent No. 10-1087616

The microalgae culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is intended to solve the problems of the conventional culture facility, and it is possible to cultivate microalgae in water regardless of the surface of sea water, Thereby preventing leakage to the outside.

The microalgae culturing apparatus provided as one embodiment of the present invention includes a condenser for collecting sunlight, an optical transmission member for transmitting the condensed light in the condenser, and a culture member for culturing the microalgae using light transmitted from the optical transmission member .

The optical transmission member according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed of an optical fiber.

The culturing member according to an embodiment of the present invention is made of a semi-permeable membrane capable of entering and exiting seawater while blocking the transmission of microalgae, and can provide a culture space for supporting microalgae.

The microalgae culture apparatus provided as one embodiment of the present invention includes a floating member for providing buoyancy for floating the condenser on the surface of water, a support member for supporting the culture member distributed and arranged at the lower part of the water surface, And may further comprise a weighting member for applying gravity to the floor.

The culturing member according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an alginate membrane enclosing an optical transmission member and including microalgae therein, and a protection net installed along an outer surface of the alginate membrane.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an alginate bead for immobilizing the microalgae so that microalgae do not escape to the inside of the culture member capable of culturing microalgae using sunlight.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a support member for providing a buoyancy for floating a culture member capable of culturing microalgae adjacent to the water surface, and a support member for accommodating the culture member As the culture member is disposed adjacent to the water surface, the solar light incident rate to the microalgae is increased, and the support member can be formed in a bowl shape to prevent the detachment of the culture member.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an angle adjuster connected to the concentrator and capable of adjusting an angle? Between the condenser and the water surface.

The microalgae culturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can cultivate microalgae in water irrespective of the surface of the sea water and does not occupy a wide installation area so that the cost for the microalgae culture facility can be reduced, There is an advantage that it can be utilized efficiently.

Also, the microalgae culture apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in water and the microalgae are fixed with alginate, so that microalgae can be prevented from leaking out of the culture apparatus by waves.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the microalgae are fixed inside the alginate bead, thereby preventing the microalgae from leaking out of the culture apparatus without adjusting the pore size of the semi-permeable membrane.

In addition, by using the support member in the form of a net according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage that it is easy to store or collect the microalgae culture apparatus (photo bioreactor).

1 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6A is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIG. 6B is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIG. 6C is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
7 is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

The terms used in this specification will be briefly described and the present invention will be described in detail.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Also, in certain cases, there may be a term selected arbitrarily by the applicant, in which case the meaning thereof will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term, not on the name of a simple term, but on the entire contents of the present invention.

When an element is referred to as "including" an element throughout the specification, it is to be understood that the element may include other elements, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In addition, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part throughout the specification, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "connected with other part in between".

Throughout the specification, the term "semi-permeable" refers to a phenomenon in which only a portion of a substance can selectively pass through a boundary of a membrane or a plate, etc., and a "permeable" ) "And " non-permeable" where most of the material is unable to pass.

As used throughout the specification, "microalgae" are microorganisms capable of photosynthesis, which means green algae, red algae, and blue algae, and include, for example, Chlorella, Chlamydomonas, Haematococous, But are not limited to, Botryococcus, Scenedesmus, Spirulina, Tetraselmis, Dunaliella, and the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae provided as an embodiment of the present invention includes a concentrator 100 for collecting sunlight, an optical transmission member 200 for transmitting the condensed light from the concentrator 100, and a light- And a culturing member 300 capable of culturing the microalgae 1100 using the culture medium.

Since the photosynthesis of the microalgae 1100 is made by using sunlight as a light source, a light collector 100 for collecting sunlight to transmit the light source to the culturing member 300 installed in the water and a sunlight The optical transmission member 200 is required to transmit the light.

Although the condenser 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed as a funnel model, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be manufactured in any structure or form capable of highly condensing sunlight.

The optical transmission member 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed of an optical fiber. An optical cable including a plurality of optical fiber bundles for transmitting light may be applied to the optical transmission member 200. In addition, a reflective member for totally reflecting light or a reflecting mirror for reflecting light at a certain angle may be provided inside the optical transmission member 200. Meanwhile, the optical transmission member 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention should be able to minimize the loss of light condensed in the condenser 100.

The culturing member 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is made of a semi-permeable membrane capable of entering and exiting seawater while blocking the transmission of the microalgae 1100 and supporting the microalgae 1100 to provide a culture space And the like. That is, the microalgae 1100 can be cultured inside the culture member 300 and can not escape out of the culture member 300.

In addition, the wall surface of the culture member 300 is formed of a mesh sheet, and gas, water, nutrients, etc. can freely pass through the mesh sheet to the inside and the outside of the culture member 300. Therefore, since gas or water can pass through the inside and the outside of the culturing member 300, ion exchange with the microalgae 1100 inside the culturing member 300 can be performed smoothly and nutrients can be supplied from the seawater. The mesh sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention may be made of nylon, polypropylene, or polyester, but is not limited thereto.

2 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an angle adjuster 1000 connected to the concentrator 100 and capable of adjusting an angle? Between the concentrator 100 and the water surface.

The angle adjuster 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponds to an element for highly focusing sunlight. Since the angle formed by the direction of the sunlight and the water surface continuously changes during one day, the angle (θ) between the water condenser (100) and the water surface can be adjusted so as to optimally collect sunlight using the angle adjusting unit .

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an apparatus for culturing microalgae according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an apparatus for culturing microalgae according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a floating member 400 for providing buoyancy for floating the condenser 100 on the water surface, A supporting member 500 for supporting the culturing member 300 and a weight member 600 for applying gravity toward the bottom of the water surface with respect to the supporting member 500 can be further included.

The support member 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention can support the culture member 300 so that the culture member 300 is arranged at various elevations in water. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the plurality of culturing members 300 connected to one condenser 100 can be arranged to have various water surface elevations in water (for example, h2 <h3 in FIG. 4).

3, the microalgae culture apparatus according to the present invention can be installed on a deep water surface (for example, h1 in Fig. 3 <h3 in Fig. 4) as shown in Fig. 4 irrespective of the shallow depth of the water surface .

However, the microalgae cultivation apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a deep micro-algae culturing apparatus because the support member 500 and the weight member 600 are positioned at a deep position in the water There is an advantage in that it can be installed in the vehicle. Therefore, according to the microalgae culture apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the installation area of the microalgae culture apparatus and to reduce the risk of corroding the culture member 300 by waves.

The supporting member 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed in the form of a net, but is not limited thereto. If the flow of seawater smoothly passes and the culture member 300 can be fixed, Lt; / RTI &gt; According to one embodiment of the present invention, the support member 500 is formed in a net shape, so that the culture member 300 can be easily collected or stored.

The weighting member 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be constructed by weight, but it is not limited thereto. If the weighting member 600 has a weight capable of pulling the supporting member 500 toward the bottom of the water surface, Applicable.

5 is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 5 (a) shows a culture member 300 not including the alginate membrane 800, FIG. 5 (b) shows a culture member 300 including the alginate membrane 800, FIG. 5 A culture element 300 including both an alginate membrane 800 and a protection net 900 is shown.

The culture member 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be composed of an alginate membrane 800 that surrounds the optical transmission member 200 and may be formed of an alginate membrane 800 and an alginate membrane 800, And the protection network 900 installed along with it.

The microalgae 1100 can be fixed in the alginate membrane 800 by injecting microalgae 1100 into the alginate membrane 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The microalgae 1100 can be cultured using sunlight transmitted through an optical transmission member 200 positioned at the center of the alginate membrane 800 as an energy source.

The protection network 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed of a stainless steel network, but is not limited thereto. The protection net 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be utilized for preventing the alginate membrane 800 from being damaged or loosened by seawater or aquatic organisms. The protection net 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have a hole formed in the surface of the protection net 900 so that the flow of seawater can be freely flowed inside the culture member 300.

Figs. 6A to 6C are views showing examples of the culture member according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Fig.

FIG. 6A shows a process of wrapping the optical transmission member 200 made of an optical fiber with the alginate membrane 800, and FIG. 6B shows a state in which the optical fiber wrapped by the alginate membrane 800 is extended and the optical fiber is activated. 6C shows an example in which the culturing member 300 is completed by inserting the optical transmission member 200 wrapped with the alginate membrane 800 in the stainless steel protection net 900 according to FIG. 6A. According to the procedure shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C The finished culture member 300 can be put into water and the microalgae can be cultured.

The alginate membrane 800 according to FIGS. 6A to 6C includes chlorella, but is not limited thereto and includes other kinds of microalgae.

7 is an exemplary view showing a culture member according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

The culturing member 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an alginate bead 700 for fixing the microalgae 1100 to the outside of the culturing member 300 so as not to escape.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fine algae 1100 can be fixed inside the alginate bead 700 by injecting the fine algae 1100 into the alginate bead 700. Therefore, the alginate bead 700 does not pass through the semi-permeable membrane surrounding the outer membrane of the culture member 300, so that the microalgae 1100 may not leak outside the culture member 300.

Since the microcavity 1100 can be escaped through the pores of the semi-permeable membrane, the size of the pore of the semi-permeable membrane must be determined in consideration of the diameter of the microcavity 1100, When the diameter of the semi-permeable membrane is somewhat small, a composite membrane of a polymer series laminated with a different semi-permeable membrane should be used.

However, by using the alginate beads 700 injected with the microalgae 1100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the microalgae 1100 from leaking to the outside of the culture member 300 regardless of the pore size of the semi- can do.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing a microalgae culture apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus for culturing microalgae according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a lifting member 400 for providing buoyancy to float the culture member 300 adjacent to the water surface and a culture member 300 distributed in the lower portion of the water surface The support member 500 may be formed of a metal. In addition, as the culture member 300 is disposed adjacent to the water surface, the solar light incidence rate for the microalgae 1100 is increased, and the support member 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged in the vicinity of the surface of the culture member 300 But may be formed in a bowl shape as shown in FIG.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

100: Concentrator
200: optical transmission member
300: culture member
400:
500: support member
600: weighted member
700: Alginate bead
800: Alginate membrane
900: Protection net
1000:
1100: Microalgae

Claims (9)

In a microalgae culture apparatus,
A concentrator (100) for collecting sunlight;
An optical transmission member (200) for transmitting the condensed light from the condenser (100); And
And a culturing member (300) capable of culturing the microalgae (1100) using light transmitted from the optical transmission member (200)
The culturing member 300 further includes an alginate membrane 800 surrounding the optical transmission member 200 and containing the microalgae 1100 therein,
A protective net 900 is provided on the outer surface of the alginate membrane 800 to prevent damage or disintegration of the alginate membrane 800 by seawater or aquatic organisms,
Wherein the protection net (900) is formed with a hole on the surface of the protection net (900) so that the flow of seawater can be freely flowed inside the cultivation member (300).
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the optical transmission member (200) is made of an optical fiber.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the culturing member (300) is made of a semi-permeable membrane capable of entering and exiting seawater while blocking the transmission of the microalgae (1100), and providing a culture space for supporting the microalgae (1100) Algae culture device.
The method according to claim 1,
A lifting member (400) for providing buoyancy to float the condenser (100) on the water surface;
A support member (500) for supporting the culture member (300) distributed in a lower part of the water surface; And
Further comprising a weight member (600) for applying gravity to the support member (500) toward the bottom of the water surface.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an alginate bead (700) for fixing the microalgae (1100) inside the culture member (300) so as not to escape to the outside.
The method according to claim 1,
A supporting member 400 for providing buoyancy for floating the culturing member 300 capable of culturing the microalgae 1100 adjacent to the surface of the water and a culturing member 300 disposed at a lower portion of the water surface, And a support member (500) for receiving,
As the culture member 300 is disposed adjacent to the water surface, the solar light incidence rate of the microalgae 1100 is increased, and the support member 500 is provided to prevent the detachment of the culture member 300 A microalgae culture device formed in a bowl shape.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an angle controller (1000) connected to the condenser (100) and capable of adjusting an angle (?) Between the condenser (100) and the water surface.

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