Transparent photobioreactor for scale-up culture of photosynthetic organisms and method for fabricating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019100719-A1
Application number	US-201816146380-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 28, 2018
Priority date	Sep 29, 2017
Publication date	Apr 4, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention relates to a large-scale photosynthetic bioreactor in which transparent photobioreactors including a baffle are connected in parallel or in series by an adhesive element so that the reactor volume can be easily scaled up for scale-up culture of photosynthetic organisms, and to a fabrication method thereof. The large-scale photosynthetic bioreactor according to the present invention makes it possible to culture a larger amount of microalgae than a conventional photobioreactor in the same area. In addition, it has high light transmittance, produces a large amount of biomass per unit area due to smooth mixing, and has a significant effect of reducing carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the present invention has an advantage in that the number of photosynthetic bioreactors required to culture the same scale of photosynthetic organisms is significantly smaller than that in a conventional process for culture of photosynthetic organisms, and thus the operating costs can be reduced.

First claim

1 . A large-scale photosynthetic bioreactor comprising multiple photosynthetic bioreactor unit of which each is connected in series or in parallel 9*by an adhesive unit, the photosynthetic bioreactor unit comprising:
(a) a culture vessel in which the photosynthesis of photosynthetic organisms occurs; (b) a multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit formed at the outer lower end of the culture vessel; (c) an external tube disposed outside the culture vessel and connected to the multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit; (d) an internal tube disposed inside the culture vessel and connected to the multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit; and (e) one or more baffles disposed in the culture vessel, wherein the baffle has one to five channel holes formed on the surface thereof, and the culture vessel is made of a transparent film.

2 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein a mounting part for mounting the photosynthetic bioreactor is formed above the culture vessel.

3 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the transparent film is selected each independently from the group consisting of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film, a film formed from a mixture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and casting polypropylene (PET+CPP), a polyacetal (POM) film, a polycarbonate (PC) film, a polyester sulfon (PES) film, a polyethylene (PE) film, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, a polypropylene (PP) film, a polyphenylene oxide (PPO=PPE) film, and a film formed from a mixture of low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and nylon 8.

4 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit is connected with a tube for performing a function selected from the group consisting of (a) introducing photosynthetic organisms and culture medium, (b) introducing a carbon dioxide-containing gas, (c) extracting a sample, and (d) discharging gases.

5 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the internal is a four-way sparger for the introduction of a carbon dioxide-containing gas.

6 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein both side ends of the baffle are made of a polyethylene material.

7 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein both lower ends of the reactors are thermally bonded in an oblique direction.

8 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the large-scale photobioreactor is configured to culture photosynthetic microorganisms with 500 to 1000 L of culture medium.

9 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive unit is square shape, wherein length of the adhesive unit is twice of the photosynthetic bioreactor unit, and horizontal length of the adhesive unit is 10 to 20 cm, and wherein the adhesive unit is made of transparent film while both side ends of the adhesive unit are made of a polyethylene material.

10 . The photosynthetic bioreactor of claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary support installed at the lower end of the photosynthetic bioreactor.

11 . A method for fabricating a large-scale photosynthetic bioreactor, comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a hole for attachment of a multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit at a lower end of a culture vessel; (b) attaching one or more baffles to the inside of the culture vessel; (c) installing the multi-purpose inlet/outlet unit, an internal tube and an external tube in the culture vessel; (d) connecting individual photosynthetic bioreactors to each other by an adhesive unit; and (e) supporting the top and bottom of the reactors by a support to arrange them in a vertical form.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the baffle is securely fixed to the culture vessel by a water-soluble adhesive, and then attached to the culture vessel by thermal bonding.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein both sides of the individual photosynthetic bioreactors are connected with the adhesive unit by thermal bonding.

14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising a step of installing an auxiliary support at the lower end of the large-scale photosynthetic bioreactor.

Assignees

• Univ Korea Res & Bus Found

Inventors

• Sim Sang Jun
• PHAM Hoang Minh
• Yu Byung-Sun
• Lee Jeongseop
• Sung Young Joon

Classifications

• C12M21/02 Primary

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

• C12M27/20

  Baffles; Ribs; Ribbons; Auger vanes · CPC title

• C12M23/22

  Transparent or translucent parts (glassware for laboratory use B01L3/00) · CPC title

• C12M29/06

  Nozzles; Sprayers; Spargers; Diffusers (per se B01F23/231, B01J19/26) · CPC title

• C12M29/08

  Air lift · CPC title