Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
  • C12Q3/00—Condition responsive control processes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G33/00—Cultivation of seaweed or algae
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F23/00—Mixing according to the phases to be mixed, e.g. dispersing or emulsifying
  • B01F23/20—Mixing gases with liquids
  • B01F23/23—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing gases into liquid media, e.g. for producing aerated liquids
  • B01F23/231—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing gases into liquid media, e.g. for producing aerated liquids by bubbling
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F23/00—Mixing according to the phases to be mixed, e.g. dispersing or emulsifying
  • B01F23/20—Mixing gases with liquids
  • B01F23/23—Mixing gases with liquids by introducing gases into liquid media, e.g. for producing aerated liquids
  • B01F23/2319—Methods of introducing gases into liquid media
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F33/00—Other mixers; Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/40—Mixers using gas or liquid agitation, e.g. with air supply tubes
  • B01F33/406—Mixers using gas or liquid agitation, e.g. with air supply tubes in receptacles with gas supply only at the bottom
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
  • B01F35/20—Measuring; Control or regulation
  • B01F35/21—Measuring
  • B01F35/211—Measuring of the operational parameters
  • B01F35/2113—Pressure
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
  • B01F35/20—Measuring; Control or regulation
  • B01F35/21—Measuring
  • B01F35/211—Measuring of the operational parameters
  • B01F35/2115—Temperature
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
  • B01F35/20—Measuring; Control or regulation
  • B01F35/21—Measuring
  • B01F35/2132—Concentration, pH, pOH, p(ION) or oxygen-demand
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
  • B01F35/20—Measuring; Control or regulation
  • B01F35/22—Control or regulation
  • B01F35/2201—Control or regulation characterised by the type of control technique used
  • B01F35/2202—Controlling the mixing process by feed-back, i.e. a measured parameter of the mixture is measured, compared with the set-value and the feed values are corrected
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M1/00—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology
  • C12M1/02—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology with agitation means; with heat exchange means
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M1/00—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology
  • C12M1/04—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology with gas introduction means
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M1/00—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology
  • C12M1/36—Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology including condition or time responsive control, e.g. automatically controlled fermentors
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M29/00—Means for introduction, extraction or recirculation of materials, e.g. pumps
  • C12M29/06—Nozzles; Sprayers; Spargers; Diffusers
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M31/00—Means for providing, directing, scattering or concentrating light
  • C12M31/08—Means for providing, directing, scattering or concentrating light by conducting or reflecting elements located inside the reactor or in its structure
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M41/00—Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation
  • C12M41/06—Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation of illumination
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M41/00—Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation
  • C12M41/30—Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation of concentration
  • C12M41/34—Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation of concentration of gas

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to algae growth. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for enhancing algae growth.
• algae cultivation in artificial conditions with bio-reactors has become increasingly common, for instance in order to produce biomass.
• the algae or microalgae
• the algae are supplied with CC enriched air bubbles and illumination (either artificial illumination, or from sunlight).
• About 50% of algal biomass is carbon, obtained by fixing C(3 ⁇ 4 photosynthetically, where carbon dioxide needs to be dissolved into the culture in a liquid phase.
• the major inputs (or macro-nutrients) for growth are light, CO 2 , nutrients (such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, etc.), and water with turbulent mixing in order to distribute those resources to individual algae cultivation cells.
• good fluid mixing is required for achieving high algae concentration in bio-reactors.
• Good mixing can manage the cell light exposure, by reducing the degree of mutual shading and minimizing photo-inhibition.
• Efficient mixing can move the cells close to the illuminated surface to obtain a photon input, and then away from it, in order to give the photon-saturated cells the opportunity to absorb this light energy for photosynthesis, before the cells are exposed to the light again. Since ultra-high cell concentrations require the usage of powerful light sources, inadequate mixing might result with over-exposure to high light, and also cell damage due to photo-inhibition.
• Gas sparging (mainly air or Nitrogen enriched with CO 2 ) is commonly used in photo-bioreactors (PBRs) in order to create the required mixing.
• PBRs photo-bioreactors
• Efficient mixing usually requires continuous high flow rates and large bubbles.
• using sparging air flow for mixing and enriching its composition with C(3 ⁇ 4 have inherent inefficiency since the C(3 ⁇ 4 is introduced in large bubbles (required for mixing) in a diluted concentration, thus resulting with poor CO 2 biological usage of about 10% (with about 90% of the CO 2 emitted out of the bio-reactor).
• Microalgae can be photographically grown in many types of systems, such as flat panel photo-bio-reactors.
• Light sources for algae growth can be any type of visible light in the range of about 4O0-700nm wavelengths.
• Light emitting diodes have the capability of providing light of specific wavelengths, for example in the visible light (e.g., blue and/or red) wavelength range.
• Some aspects of the invention may be directed to a method of sparging an algae cultivation container.
• the method may include controlling at least one first sparger to distribute a first fluid into the container at a first operating flow rate; and controlling at least one second sparger to distribute a second fluid into the container at a second operating flow rate.
• the first operating flow rate may be adapted to allow mixing the algae in the cultivation container
• the second operating flow rate may be adapted to allow assimilation of materials in a liquid in the cultivation container.
• the method may further include changing operating flow rate of the at least one second sparger according to changes in the at least one measured parameter.
• the method may further include illuminating the container at a predetermined wavelength with at least one light source.
• the algae cultivation container sparging system may include at least one sensor, to measure at least one parameter within the container; at least one first sparger, to distribute a first fluid into the container at a first operating flow rate and at least one second sparger, to distribute a second fluid into the container at a second operating flow rate based on the at least one measured parameter.
• the algae cultivation container sparging system may further include at least one controller, to control the first operating flow rate and the second operating flow rate.
• the first operating flow rate may be adapted to allow turbulent mixing the algae in the cultivation container
• the second operating flow rate may be adapted to allow assimilation of materials in a liquid in the cultivation container.
• the at least one first sparger may have a diameter larger than 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, the at least one second sparger may have a diameter smaller than 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, the predetermined fluid may be selected from the group consisting of air and Nitrogen. In some embodiments, the algae cultivation container sparging system may further include a physical barrier to separate fluids distributed by first sparger and second sparger. In some embodiments, the at least one second sparger may be configured to distribute carbon-dioxide bubbles into the container. In some embodiments, the first operating flow rate of the at least one first sparger may be 100 millimeters/minute. In some embodiments, the first operating flow rate of the at least one second sparger may be 5 millimeters/minute. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system, according to some embodiments of the invention
• FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system with at least one illumination unit, according to some embodiments of the invention
• FIG. 2B schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system 200 with at least one illumination unit 201 and a single sparger, according to some embodiments of the invention.
• FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for a method of sparging an algae cultivation container, according to some embodiments of the invention.
• Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system 100, according to some embodiments of the invention. It should be noted that the direction of arrows in Fig. 1 may indicate the direction of information flow.
• sparging system 100 may include at least one first sparger 101 with a plurality of nozzles, to distribute a first predetermined fluid (e.g., air and/or Nitrogen bubbles) into a water filled algae cultivation container 10 (e.g., a bio-reactor) at a first operating flow rate so as to allow mixing therein.
• Sparging system 100 may further include at least one second sparger 102 with a plurality of nozzles, to distribute a second predetermined fluid (e.g., including gas bubbles with CO 2 and/or dissolved Phosphorus for mass transfer) into the container 10 at a second operating flow rate.
• a first predetermined fluid e.g., air and/or Nitrogen bubbles
• Sparging system 100 may further include at least one second sparger 102 with a plurality of nozzles, to distribute a second predetermined fluid (e.g., including gas bubbles with CO 2 and/or dissolved Phosphorus for mass transfer) into the container 10 at a second operating flow rate.
• sparging system 100 may include at least one controller 103, to control the first operating flow rate and the second operating flow rate.
• at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 and second sparger 102 may distribute fluid into cultivation container 10 based on a request from at least one controller 103, as further described hereinafter.
• first operating flow rate may be based on the second operating flow rate.
• at least one of the first operating flow rate and the second operating flow rate is predetermined.
• the first operating flow rate may be adapted to allow turbulent mixing of the algae in cultivation container 10.
• the second operating flow rate may be adapted to allow mass transfer and/or assimilation of materials in a liquid in cultivation container 10.
• second predetermined fluid may include gas bubbles with over 30% C(3 ⁇ 4 concentration
• the source for at least one first predetermined fluid and second predetermined fluid may be external to sparging system 100, for example geothermal power stations may provide a source of dissolved Carbon and/or Sulfur for the second predetermined fluid.
• the first operating flow rate of at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 may be different from the second operating flow rate of at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 (e.g., 5 millimeters/minute).
• At least one nozzle of first sparger 101 may have a diameter larger than ⁇ 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 may have a diameter smaller than ⁇ 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, nozzles of first sparger 101 as well as of second sparger 102 may distribute the same fluid (e.g., air), with nozzles of each sparger having different diameters.
• fluid e.g., air
• sparging system 100 may further include a physical barrier 104 to separate first fluid distributed by first sparger 101 and second fluid distributed by second sparger 102 within cultivation container 10.
• at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 and/or second sparger 102 may be embedded into physical barrier 104.
• physical barrier 104 may be adapted to allow flow from one side of the barrier (with first fluid distribution) to the other side (with second fluid distribution) at predefined (e.g., upper and lower) locations of the cultivation container 10, in order to create a controlled flow within the container 10.
• sparging system 100 may further include at least one sensor 105 (e.g., temperature sensor) coupled to controller 103 and configured to detect at least one feature within cultivation container 10.
• at least one sensor 105 may detect at least one of pH levels, temperature and pressure conditions within cultivation container 10.
• at least one sensor 105 may also detect parameters external to cultivation container 10, for example measuring mass flow of the gas emissions from cultivation container 10 to determine amount of substance that was absorbed in the algae cells by subtracting the emitted amount from the amount inserted into the container (e.g., by second sparger 102).
• sparging system 100 may further include at least one database 106 (or memory unit) configured to store algorithms for operation of controller 103, for instance database of operating rates for each nozzle and/or each sparger.
• sparging system 100 may further include a power source 107 coupled to controller 103 and configured to provide electrical power to sparging system 100, whereby the power source 107 is adapted to power at least one first sparger 101 and at least one second sparger 102 to operate at different rates.
• data gathered by at least one sensor 105 may be analyzed by controller (or processor) 103 to detects if an attribute exceeds a predetermined threshold, for instance threshold for pH level and/or temperature and/or CO 2 concentration within the container 10.
• controller 103 may operate at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 and/or at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 at a different flow rate. For example, detecting C(3 ⁇ 4 concentration within the container 10 exceeds 40% (or detecting low pH levels) may cause at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 to lower flow rate of second sparger 102 to ⁇ 2 millimeters/minute.
• at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 may operate only upon receiving a signal from sensor 105 that an attribute exceeds a predetermined threshold, and not operated in a constant rate.
• At least one nozzle of first sparger 101 may operate only upon receiving a signal from sensor 105 that an attribute exceeds a predetermined threshold, for example increasing mixing flow as the density of algal population increases.
• at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 and/or at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 may operate in a constant rate whereby the operation is not continuous.
• at least one nozzle of first sparger 101 and/or at least one nozzle of second sparger 102 may operate in a non-constant rate whereby the operation is also not continuous.
• cultivation container 10 may have a bubble column configuration with at least one first sparger 101 and at least one second sparger 102 positioned on the same surface of the bubble column container.
• cultivation container 10 may have an airlift configuration with at least one second sparger 102 positioned at a bottom portion of a down-comer that may be distal to sensor 105, such that residence time of bubbles from the at least one second sparger 102 may be enhanced.
• sparging system 100 may allow at least 20% organic carbon within container 10, calculated over carbon provided as C(3 ⁇ 4 bubbles.
• at least a portion of the algae within container 10 is Chlorella Vulgaris.
• at least a portion of the algae within container 10 is Nannochloropsis.
• at least a portion of the algae within container 10 is Isochrysis galban.
• FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system 200 with at least one illumination unit 201, according to some embodiments of the invention. It should be noted that the direction of arrows in Fig. 2A may indicate the direction of information flow.
• algae cultivation container sparging system 200 may include at least one illumination unit 201, coupled to controller 103, to illuminate cultivation container 10.
• at least one illumination unit 201 and controller 103 may be included in a bioreactor illumination system 208 for algae growth.
• the distance between cultivation container 10 and at least one illumination unit 201 may be modified so as to control the illumination received by cultivation container 10. For example, bringing at least one illumination unit 201 closer to cultivation container 10 so as to increase illumination of algae therein.
• the distance between cultivation container 10 and at least one illumination unit 201 may be controlled by controller 103, for example, included in illumination system 208.
• the illumination intensity light sources 202 in illumination unit 201 may be controlled.
• At least one illumination unit 201 may include at least one light source 202 (e.g., LED) such that each light source 202 may be controlled separately by controller 103.
• at least one light source 202 may be controlled to illuminate with a different intensity than another light source 202.
• all light sources 202 may be controlled to change the illumination intensity, either manually or according to preset timing and/or sensed conditions in cultivation container 10.
• cultivation container 10 with physical barrier 104 may include at least one light source 202 embedded into the physical barrier 104 (as shown in Fig. 1) such that container 10 may be illuminated from within, i.e. from at least one light source 202 embedded into the physical barrier 104.
• cultivation container 10 may include a plurality of physical barriers 104, each including at least one light source 202, such that a modular system may be created with algae growing between adjacent physical barriers 104, where at least one controller 103 may control illumination for all light sources 202 embedded into the physical barriers 104.
• the amount of light delivered to cultivation container 10 may be defined as an average of light flux delivered to the surface of the cultivation container 10.
• sparging system 200 for ultra-high density cultures e.g., density above ⁇ 5gram/liter
• at least one illumination unit 201 may have light distribution of at least one light source 202 so as to provide average light flux substantially equal to average light flux of low density cultures (e.g., density below ⁇ 5gram/liter) achieving similar light penetration, while at least one illumination unit 201 may have higher intensity for each light source 202.
• light intensity within cultivation container 10 may be measured with at least one sensor 105.
• the light passage may be short (e.g., ⁇ 1- 5millimeters of illuminated zone with ⁇ 20-30millimeters of dark zone) so that algae cells adjacent to the illumination unit 201 may be photo-inhibited (sub-lethal effect to algae) and/or photo-bleached (lethal effect to algae) so illumination unit 201 may be initially kept at a distance from container 10 to allow some growth of the algae, and then brought closer (e.g., once a day) so as to further increase the algae growth.
• ultrahigh density cultures may require mixing so as to allow illumination cycles for the algae (between the illuminated and dark zones) due to the short light passage.
• ultra-high density cultures may be illuminated with various wavelengths since in such densities the wavelength may have nearly no effect on the growth due to the short light passage. It should be noted that according to common practice algae are illumination with specific wavelengths (e.g., with blue light) for normal growth since algae should respond to light differently, however experiments conducted by the applicants have shown that illumination with any wavelength may be used for ultra-high density cultures.
• the light penetration into cultivation container 10 may correspond to at least one of the light intensity, the light wavelength, the specific algal strain, and/or the algal culture density. It should be noted that the light penetration into cultivation container 10 may determine the ration between illuminated zones and dark zones within the cultivation container 10, and thus may affect the light intensity provided by illumination units 201, the gas flow rate through first sparger 101, the gas flow rate through second sparger 102, etc.
• cultivation container 10 may be illuminated by at least one illumination unit 201 to provide a daily amount of over 90% of maximal algae growth within the cultivation container 10.
• At least one illumination unit 201 may include a configuration of low distribution of high intensity light sources 202. Such a configuration may allow enhanced algae growth compared with common practice configurations with homogenous distribution of low intensity light sources.
• the illumination photon flux density of at least one light source 202 is 1200 micromole/meter_ 2 /second.
• at least one illumination unit 201 may include at least four light sources 202 for each square meter.
• an illumination unit 201 having a surface area of about 6 meters a light path of about 4cm may include 24 LED light sources 202, each having light flux of 1200 micromole/meter 2 /second.
• at least a portion of the algae within container 10 is Isochrysis galban.
• controller 103 may be configured to control the illumination wavelength of the at least one light source 202, for instance with a dedicated illumination module adapted to modify the wavelength of the emitted illumination.
• a constant temperature of 27 ° C may be maintained within the container 10.
• controller 103 may be configured to control at least one light source 202 to illuminate with wavelength of 650 nanometers. It should be noted that according to common practice algae are illumination with a particular wavelength (e.g., with blue light) for optimal growth, however experiments conducted by the applicants have shown that illumination with other wavelengths (e.g., with red light) may be used for enhanced growth.
• FIG. 2B schematically illustrates a block diagram of an algae cultivation container sparging system 210 with at least one illumination unit 201 and a single third sparger 211, according to some embodiments of the invention. It should be noted that the direction of arrows in Fig. 2B may indicate the direction of information flow.
• sparging system 210 may include at least one illumination unit 201 with at least one third sparger 211 (with at least one nozzle) that is configured to distribute a predetermined fluid into the cultivation container 10.
• at least one third sparger 211 may include at least one nozzle to distribute a first predetermined fluid and at least one nozzle (e.g., having a different diameter) to distribute a second predetermined fluid.
• at least one third sparger 211 may be adapted to allow turbulent mixing the algae in the cultivation container 10, as well as adapted to allow assimilation of C(3 ⁇ 4 in a liquid in the container 10.
• the method may include controlling 301 at least one first sparger 101 to distribute a first fluid into the container 10 at a first operating flow rate. In some embodiments, the method may further include controlling 302 second sparger 102 to distribute a second fluid into the container 10 at a second operating flow rate. In some embodiments, the first operating flow rate of at least one first sparger 101 may be different from the second operating flow rate of at least one second sparger 102. In some embodiments, the method may further include measuring 303 at least one parameter within the container 10, and changing 304 operating flow rate of at least one of at least one second sparger 102 according to changes in the at least one measured parameter.
• the first operating flow rate may be adapted to allow turbulent mixing the algae in the cultivation container, and the second operating flow rate may be adapted to allow assimilation of materials in a liquid in the cultivation container.

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• 2018
  • 2018-01-18 WO PCT/IL2018/050065 patent/WO2018134818A1/en active Application Filing
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