WO2023057611A1

WO2023057611A1 - Bioreactor

Info

Publication number: WO2023057611A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/077902
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Emde; Christoph Petersen
Original assignee: Lightpat Gmbh
Priority date: 2021-10-07
Filing date: 2022-10-07
Publication date: 2023-04-13
Also published as: DE102021126012A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bioreactor comprising a vessel (10), which receives phototrophic organisms, microorganisms or plants, wherein the bioreactor is assigned at least one light source which emits light at frequencies suitable for the microorganisms or plants, wherein according to the invention at least partial regions of the vessel (10) itself or of fittings (17, 18, 19) within the vessel (10) are designed to be self-luminous and, for this purpose, either consist of a light-guiding transparent or translucent material or comprise at least one planar or punctiform illuminant integrated into the partial region of the vessel or into the fittings.

Description

lightpat GmbH

Friedberger Landstrasse 645

60389 Frankfurt

bioreactor

The present invention relates to a bioreactor which comprises a container which accommodates phototrophic organisms, microorganisms or plants, wherein at least one light source which emits light in frequencies suitable for the organisms, microorganisms or plants is assigned to the bioreactor.

For example, a bioreactor is known from EP 3 167 042 B1, which is used, for example, for the phototrophic cultivation of algae or cyanobacteria. For example, species of algae are known to produce astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a xanthophyll colourant, a powerful antioxidant and is considered a valuable food colourant, approved by the European Commission under the designation E161j. Astaxanthin is also added to fish feed in salmon farming and is required in relatively large quantities.

Lighting systems are also used in plant breeding, for example in the cultivation of tomato plants in greenhouses, with LED lights or alternatively also high-pressure sodium lights being used here as a rule.

In all of the aforementioned applications in which a light source is required for the irradiation of the microorganisms or plants, the procedure to date has been to arrange one or, as a rule, several lighting devices or lamps at a distance from the bioreactor or from the plants, so that the Light from the lighting device is emitted onto the bioreactor or the plant. If microorganisms that are in a suitable nutrient medium inside a bioreactor are irradiated with light from such a light source from outside the bioreactor, the lighting device must be at a certain distance from the bioreactor and the light must also penetrate the wall of the bioreactor , so that light losses occur through light scattering, reflection and absorption. In addition, light sources such as LEDs generate a high proportion of thermal energy, which requires a corresponding distance from the bioreactor or heat has to be dissipated become. Due to the loss of light and the conversion into heat energy, such a system is not optimized in terms of energy, since only a proportion of the energy used is used for the light that ultimately irradiates the microorganisms. In addition, the necessary distance between the lighting device and the bioreactor that is irradiated with light leads to the fact that, in the case of larger systems, a considerable amount of space is required, which significantly exceeds the space required by the bioreactors themselves. In addition, for the illumination of microorganisms and plants, a light that is as uniform as possible, ie homogeneous, is advantageous.

This is where the present invention comes in. The object of the invention is to provide a bioreactor of the type mentioned at the outset, which brings the light source closer to the irradiated microorganisms or plants, so that the light is used more effectively and energy is thus also saved.

The solution to the above problem is provided by a bioreactor of the type mentioned at the beginning with the features of claim 1.

According to the invention, at least partial areas of the container itself or of built-in components within the container are designed to be self-luminous and consist either of a light-conducting, transparent or translucent material or at least comprise a flat or punctiform light source integrated into the partial area of the container.

The solution according to the invention is advantageous because the light is not radiated from outside the reactor over a distance into the interior of the reactor, whereby light components are lost through light scattering, reflection and absorption, but the light sources are in the reactor itself in the immediate vicinity of the microorganisms or plants are located and can irradiate the microorganisms or plants via flat structures, which means that there is hardly any loss of light and a high level of efficiency is achieved.

Another advantage is that daylight can also be used with transparent or translucent materials. There is no shading from lighting fixtures. With a suitable control system, a mixture of daylight and artificial light can be used, for example. This saves a large proportion of energy. According to a preferred development of the invention, it is provided that at least one plate-shaped outer wall surface, floor surface, ceiling surface or inner surface of the container and/or at least one tubular channel or a hollow profile, which is/are arranged in the container, is at least partially made of a light-conducting glass or consists of plastic, with light being fed into this plate-shaped surface and/or in this tubular channel via at least one illuminant, which light is guided in the plate-shaped surface and/or in the tubular channel, the light being emitted via scattering means from the plate-shaped surface and/or is decoupled from the tubular channel or hollow profile. According to this preferred development of the invention, parts of the container of the bioreactor such as wall surfaces, floor surfaces, etc. are used as plate-shaped light guides, into which light is radiated, for example from the front, via lamps, which is then guided in these surfaces and is coupled out via the surface. The scattering means used for this purpose can be located in the plates, for example as light-scattering microparticles, or the surfaces are printed with light-scattering grids, for example. The surfaces can also be engraved or milled, for example with light-scattering grids or structures. These methods for light extraction are known per se from the prior art. In this embodiment variant, for example, load-bearing parts of the reactor vessel can be used at the same time as light-conducting surfaces.

Alternatively, structures built into the container can also be designed in the form of light-conducting surfaces or also channels. In this way, for example, tubular channels through which a medium flows in the container can be used as light guides and the light can thus be brought into the immediate vicinity of the microorganisms that are in the medium flowing in the container. In addition, you have the effect that the flowing medium can absorb the heat emitted by the lamps. It should be noted that when the light is irradiated from the front via the lamps into flat, plate-shaped or tubular structures, the heating of the structures serving as light guides is lower anyway, since the heat is distributed in the structure, compared to the immediate vicinity of a point light source.

According to an alternative variant of the invention, at least one plate-shaped outer wall surface, floor surface, ceiling surface or inner surface of the container and/or at least one tubular channel, which is arranged in the container, consists at least partially of an OLED panel or an OLED film or an OLED -Panel is attached to one of these plate-shaped surfaces. In this variant you use therefore not flat light guides as the light source, but OLED panels or OLED foils, which are already flat light sources due to their structure. Such OLED panels can be attached to any surface of the container and the microorganisms can be irradiated with light from close proximity, or if it is OLED foils and therefore flexible OLEDs, they can also be attached to cylindrical structures such as tubular channels and on these For example, channels through which the medium containing the microorganisms flows can be used directly as light sources and made self-luminous.

When using self-luminous plate-shaped or tubular light sources, according to a development of the invention, micro- or nanoparticles can be provided as the scattering agent, which are embedded in the plastic material or in the glass of the plate-shaped surface and/or the tubular channel and result in a uniform light emission over the entire outer and in the case of tubular channels, optionally also via the inner surface of the light guides, past which the medium containing the microorganisms flows.

In principle, largely transparent or translucent plastics or also glass can be considered as materials for the light guides, with some types of glass being less suitable if they absorb light in certain wavelength ranges that are needed for the microorganisms to be exposed to them. The person skilled in the art will therefore select a type of glass that is suitable for the respective application. So-called acrylic glass is particularly suitable as the plastic material, ie polymethyl methacrylate or, for example, polycarbonate.

In order to increase the light-emitting surface overall, one can, for example, according to a further development of the invention, use structures of several concentrically nested self-luminous tubular channels as installations within the container, through which a medium flows, in particular a nutrient medium in which microorganisms are located . In this way, channels can be created in which the medium flowing through the channels is irradiated with light in the desired frequency or a defined frequency spectrum both from the inside and from the outside. For example, by suitably selecting the lighting means, light can be fed into the light-guiding structures that has a wavelength distribution similar to that of natural daylight or others Applications largely monochromatic light in a wavelength that is specifically tailored to the respective microorganisms or plants.

According to an alternative variant of the present invention, the container has planar built-in components that protrude inward from a wall surface at an angle and form flow obstacles for a medium flowing through the reactor and are surrounded by this medium, with these flat built-in components consisting of a light-conducting glass or plastic, comprise an OLED panel or an OLED film or an OLED panel or an OLED film is attached to them. These inwardly protruding, flat installations represent flow obstacles for the flowing medium, through which the total distance covered by the medium when flowing through the container is lengthened, the flow is slowed down and the dwell time of the medium is increased. This also intensifies the irradiation of the microorganisms. The use of OLED panels or OLED foils has the advantage that, due to their structure, OLED lamps are already flat light sources with a uniform light output over the surface, so that light deflection or the use of scattering agents is always associated with a loss of light is not required. In addition, the luminance and light intensity of OLEDs are generally lower than those of point light sources such as LEDs, which is not a disadvantage in the present application, but rather an advantage, since high luminance levels are usually not required for the irradiation of the microorganisms. When using OLEDs, there is no need to convert the light that is emitted primarily in a point form by the lighting means into planar light, as a result of which light losses are avoided.

The aforementioned flat built-in components, which project inward at an angle, are often used in bioreactors of this type in order to slow down the flow of the medium through the container. The invention therefore uses these internals for irradiating the microorganisms with light by making the internals self-luminous and light-emitting. The internals can each start alternately from a first wall surface and a second wall surface opposite this first wall surface and each end at a distance in front of the wall surface opposite the wall surface from which they start, with the internals being essentially transverse to the main flow of the medium flowing through the container extend so that the medium flowing through the container is forced into a meandering flow along the internals. The particular advantage of the solution according to the invention is that the light source is located in the reactor vessel itself, so that the light emitted by the self-luminous surfaces or tubular channels is used entirely for the irradiation of the microorganisms and no light is lost through emission into the environment of the reactor .

Alternatively, light-scattering or reflecting particles can also be located in the medium itself. In this way, the medium itself can become an additional and complementary element of the light guide.

A preferred alternative variant of the solution to the problem according to the invention provides that the bioreactor accommodates plants that are conveyed in the axial direction through self-luminous tubular, approximately horizontal channels or hollow profiles of the bioreactor, the tubular channels or hollow profiles being fed by a gaseous medium and/or by a liquid medium are flowed through, the liquid medium in particular washes around the root area of the plants. In this variant, a gaseous medium can be located above a liquid medium, for example a nutrient solution, so that the plants are in an artificial atmosphere in the area of their green shoots and absorb CO2 for photosynthesis, for example. A specially tuned gas mixture can be used for the artificial atmosphere. The plants can be irradiated with light via the walls of the self-luminous tubular channels. Another advantage of this variant is that the plants can be irradiated with light not only from above but also from below. In principle, the tubular channels or hollow profiles can have any desired cross-section, ie, for example, a round cross-section or else an angular or polygonal cross-section or a cross-section of geometrically irregular shape. In principle, this variant can be used for the cultivation of any plants, for example lettuce, vegetable plants or herbs.

The bioreactor according to the invention can have different geometric shapes and cross sections. For example, it can be a cuboid container with a rectangular cross section or a prismatic or cylindrical container with a polygonal, round, oval or elliptical cross section. If the bioreactor has tubular channels or cavities or only consists of such a channel or cavity, these channels or cavities through which a medium (nutrient medium) flows can also have any desired cross section exhibit and also a very variable geometric shape. For example, a channel or cavity forming a flow path may be arranged in a helicoidal or spiral configuration.

The flat internals mentioned above, which emit light (they are luminous or can be illuminated themselves) and form flow obstacles for a medium flowing through the bioreactor, can consist of flat plates which, for example, protrude into the reactor at an angle, as described above, they However, they can also be designed as curved surfaces and have a wave shape, for example, especially when viewed in the direction of flow of the medium and/or the longitudinal direction of the reactor, so that in this variant too the medium flowing through the reactor meanders along the wave shape through the reactor.

The present invention is described in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. show:

FIG. 1 shows a schematically simplified vertical longitudinal section through the container of a bioreactor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged detail section II from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a simplified longitudinal section through a tubular channel with self-illuminating walls according to an alternative exemplary variant of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of an alternative reactor with corrugated internals;

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment variant in which the bioreactor has the external shape of a snail;

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a bioreactor which has the external shape of a spiral.

First, reference is made to FIG. 1 and the container 10 of a bioreactor according to the present invention is explained on the basis of this illustration. The container 10 has, for example, an approximately rectangular longitudinal section and has two parallel opposite vertical side walls 11, 12, an approximately horizontal bottom 13 connected to the two side walls 11, 12 in each case at the lower end and an approximately horizontal bottom 13 connected to the two side walls 11, 12 in each case at the upper end horizontal ceiling 14. In the area of the floor 13 there is an inlet opening 15 for a liquid medium which flows into the container 10 and flows through the container from the bottom to the top. The medium can leave the container 10 through an outlet opening 16 at the upper end in the cover 14 . This liquid medium contains, for example, microalgae that produce a dye and for which the liquid medium serves as a nutrient. These microalgae are irradiated with light inside the container 10 according to the present invention.

The container 10 also has built-in components in the form of a plurality of horizontal plates 17, 18, 19 spaced apart from one another, each of which protrudes approximately horizontally from one of the two side walls 11, 12 into the interior of the container 10. These horizontal plates 17, 18, 19 are arranged in the interior of the container 10 such that they are each firmly connected to one of the side walls 11, 12, protrude from this into the interior of the container and at a distance in front of the opposite side wall 11, 12 ends. The arrangement of the adjacent side walls is preferably alternating, so that one plate 18 starts, for example, from the left side wall 11 and ends at a distance in front of the right side wall 12, while the next plate 19 arranged above it starts from the right side wall 12 and at a distance before the left side wall 11 ends. This results in a flow path for the medium from bottom to top through the container 10, in which the medium covers a meandering path through the container, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. This results in a slower flow through the container 10 and a correspondingly longer dwell time in the container.

As can be seen from the detailed view according to FIG partially transparent or translucent plastic material, into which light is fed at the front via illuminants 21, which is coupled out via scattering means 22 via the surface of the plate-shaped walls and built-in components and is thus emitted evenly over the surface, so that the light 20 is emitted directly into the The medium flowing past walls and fixtures is irradiated becomes. Microparticles, for example, which are embedded in the plastic of the plate material of the walls 12 and fixtures 17, come into consideration as the scattering means 22. The walls 11, 12 and fixtures 17, 18, 19 are thus designed as light guide plates that emit light evenly over a large area.

As an alternative to the use of light guide plates, flat OLED panels can also be used, for example, which are attached to the walls 11, 12 and fixtures 17, 18, 19 or on the floor 13 and ceiling 14 or are embedded in these elements and also emit light evenly over the surrender area. This ensures that the microorganisms in the medium are constantly and evenly irradiated with light from all sides as they slowly flow through the container.

A further exemplary variant of the present invention is explained below with reference to FIG. In this exemplary embodiment, tubular channels 30 extend in the bioreactor, which can extend vertically but also horizontally, depending on the application. With a vertical arrangement, the tubular channels 30 can be flowed through by a liquid medium, with a horizontal arrangement, the tubular channels can only partially be flowed through by a liquid medium, for example only in the lower third or in the lower half and a gaseous atmosphere can develop above this condition. Only a single tubular channel 30 is shown in the drawing in FIG.

In the example according to FIG Direction seen from several sections, which can be connected to each other via connectors 33, 34, these connectors are advantageously arranged so that the connectors 33 of the inner tube 31 are arranged offset to the connectors 34 of the outer tubes 32 viewed in the axial direction It is thus achieved that the shadows that result in the area of the connectors if they are not light-conducting are located in the inner tube 31 at a point where there is no connector 34 in the outer tube 32 and thus the Plants or microorganisms are then irradiated with light from the outside at a connector 33 on the inner tube 31 and correspondingly at a connector 34 on outer tube 32 from the inside. It can be seen in FIG. 3 that between the inner tube 31 and the outer tube 32 there is an annular cavity 35 through which a medium can flow in the case of microorganisms or in which plants are located and through which a liquid medium then partially flows is, in which case the arrangement of the tubes 31, 32 is preferably horizontal in the latter case.

If the tubes 31, 32 are arranged vertically as in FIG partially block the cross section of the cavity 35 and thus force the flowing medium into a slow meandering flow. Here, too, the arrangement of the internals 36 can be such that they partially adjoin the wall of the outer tube 32 and are open towards the inner tube 31 and partially conversely adjoin the inner tube 31 and are open towards the outer tube 32, preferably at internals 36 that follow one another in the flow direction alternately.

Figure 4 shows an exemplary alternative embodiment of a bioreactor 10 according to the invention, in which this plate-shaped self-luminous fixtures 38 have a wave shape, so that the medium flowing through the bioreactor 10 is forced into a meandering flow with a correspondingly longer flow path, in which the microorganisms are in each case directly acted upon by the light which the built-in components 38 emit.

FIG. 5 shows a further exemplary alternative embodiment of a bioreactor 37 according to the invention, in which it has the external shape of a snail. Inside there are in turn plate-shaped fixtures 17, 18, which alternately protrude inwards from one or the other side wall of the reactor, so that the medium flows past these fixtures 17, 18 and has to cover a longer flow path.

FIG. 6 shows a further exemplary alternative embodiment in which the bioreactor 39 forms a tubular channel through which the medium flows and has the shape of a spiral, which also results in a longer flow path that the medium has to cover.

10 Bioreactor Vessels/Container

11 left side panel

12 right side panel

13 bottom of the container

14 top of the container

15 entrance opening

16 exit port

17 horizontal plate, internals

18 horizontal plate, internals

19 horizontal plate, internals

20 emitted light

21 illuminant, light source

22 grit

30 tubular channel

31 inner tube

32 outer tube

33 connectors

34 connectors

35 annular cavity

36 fixtures

37 snail-shaped bioreactor

38 wavy internals

39 spiral bioreactor

Claims

Bioreactor, which comprises a container (10) that accommodates phototrophic living beings, microorganisms or plants, wherein the bioreactor is assigned at least one light source (21) which emits light in frequencies suitable for the living beings, microorganisms or plants, characterized in that at least Partial areas of the container (10) itself and/or installations (17, 18, 19) within the container (10) are designed to be self-luminous and consist of a light-conducting, transparent or translucent material and/or at least one part of the container or flat or punctiform lighting means (21) integrated into the built-in components. Bioreactor according to Claim 1, characterized in that at least one plate-shaped outer wall surface (11, 12), bottom surface (13), top surface (14) or inner surface (17, 18, 19) of the container and/or at least one tubular channel or a hollow profile , which is arranged in the container, consists at least partially of a light-conducting glass or plastic, light being fed into this plate-shaped surface and/or into this tubular channel via at least one illuminant (21), which light is in the plate-shaped surface and/or or is conducted in the tubular channel and light is coupled out of the plate-shaped surface and/or the tubular channel via scattering means (22). Bioreactor according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one plate-shaped outer wall surface (11, 12), bottom surface (13), top surface (14) or inner surface (17, 18, 19) of the container (10) and/or at least one tubular channel or a hollow profile, which is arranged in the container, consists at least partially of an OLED panel or an OLED film, or an OLED panel is attached to one of these plate-shaped surfaces. Bioreactor according to Claim 2, characterized in that microparticles or nanoparticles are provided as scattering means (22), which are embedded in the plastic material or in the glass of the plate-shaped surface and/or the tubular channel.

5. Bioreactor according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the at least one plate-shaped surface and/or the at least one tubular channel consists of acrylic glass.

6. Bioreactor according to one of Claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the internals (17, 18, 19) within the container (10) comprise structures of a plurality of concentrically nested, self-luminous tubular channels through which a medium flows, in particular a nutrient medium containing microorganisms.

7. Bioreactor according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the container (10) from a wall surface (11, 12) at an angle inwardly projecting flat fittings (17, 18, 19), the flow obstacles for the reactor form the medium flowing through and are flowed around by this medium, these flat installations (17, 18, 19) consisting of a light-conducting glass or plastic, comprising an OLED panel or an OLED film or an OLED panel or an OLED film this is attached.

8. Bioreactor according to claim 7, characterized in that the planar built-in components (17, 18, 19) projecting inwards at an angle alternately emanate from a first wall surface (11) and a second wall surface (12) opposite this first wall surface and each with distance in front of the wall surface (12, 11) opposite the wall surface (11, 12) from which they originate, the internals (17, 18, 19) extending essentially transversely to the main flow of the medium flowing through the container (10). , so that the medium flowing through the container (10) is forced into a meandering flow along the internals (17, 18, 19).

9. Bioreactor according to one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that it comprises at least one channel or cavity which forms a flow path for a medium flowing through the reactor, the channel or cavity being arranged in a helical or spiral shape.

10. Bioreactor according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that planar built-in components (38), which emit light and form flow obstacles for a medium flowing through the bioreactor, are designed as curved surfaces, in particular have a wave shape, in particular in the direction of flow of the Seen medium and / or longitudinal direction of the reactor, so that the 14

Medium flowing through the reactor meanders along the waveform through the reactor. Bioreactor according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it receives plants that are conveyed in the axial direction through self-luminous tubular, approximately horizontal channels or hollow profiles of the bioreactor, the tubular channels or hollow profiles being fed by a gaseous medium and/or by a liquid Medium flows through, wherein the liquid medium washes around the root area of the plants in particular.