Optimised method for breaking chlorella walls by mechanical crushing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10465159-B2
Application number	US-201414902430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2014
Priority date	Jul 4, 2013
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of mechanically crushing microalgae cells of the genus Chlorella at an industrial scale, the mechanical crushing being carried out in a horizontal ball mill system. In the method, the balls have an apparent density of between 2 and 3.5 kg/l, the filling rate of the crushing chamber is greater than or equal to 80%, and preferably greater than or equal to 85%, and the mechanical crushing is carried out continuously by a series of successive passes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for the mechanical milling of cells of microalgae of the Chlorella genus, the mechanical milling being carried out in one or more horizontal bead mills, the one or more horizontal bead mills comprising zirconium silicate beads, wherein:
the zirconium silicate beads have an apparent density of between 2 and 3.5 kg/l,
a filling rate of a milling chamber of the one or more horizontal bead mills is greater than or equal to 80%, and wherein the mechanical milling is carried out in continuous mode by successive passes of said cells through said one or more horizontal bead mills.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the microalgae of the Chlorella genus are selected from the group consisting of Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella sorokiniana , and Chlorella protothecoides.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 0.8 mm.

4. The process of claim 2 , wherein the microalgae is Chlorella protothecoides.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 1 mm.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the filling rate of the milling chamber is greater than or equal to 85%.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the microalgae of the Chlorella genus are selected from the group consisting of Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella sorokiniana , and Chlorella protothecoides.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 1 mm.

9. The process of claim 7 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 0.8 mm.

10. The process of claim 6 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 0.8 mm.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 1 mm.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the zirconium silicate beads have a diameter of less than 0.8 mm.

Assignees

• Corbion Biotech Inc

Inventors

• Toursel Beatrice
• Delannoy Francois
• Patinier Samuel

Classifications

• C12M47/06 Primary

  Hydrolysis; Cell lysis; Extraction of intracellular or cell wall material (lysis of microorganisms C12N1/06; extracting or separating nucleic acids from biological samples C12N15/1003) · CPC title

• C12M21/02

  Photobioreactors (culturing algae A01G33/00, A01H4/001, C12N1/12) · CPC title

• B02C17/16

  Mills in which a fixed container houses stirring means tumbling the charge · CPC title

• C12N1/066 Primary

  by physical processes · CPC title

• B02C17/20

  Disintegrating members · CPC title