Ventilating/Stirring Culture Tank

• US 20080233631A1
• Filed: 03/20/2006
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kenichi Higashiyama
• Original Assignee: Suntory Ltd (Kotobuki Realty Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Higashiyama, Kenichi
• Application Number:
  US11/886,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20080233631A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/256.2
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 23/06 Tubular C12M23/08, C12M23/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 27/02 Stirrer or mobile mixing elements
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 27/20 Baffles; Ribs; Ribbons; Auger vanes
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 1/14 Fungi culture of mushrooms A01G18/00; as new plants A01H15/00; Culture media therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/6427 Polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA], i.e. having two or more double bonds in their backbone
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/6472 containing polyunsaturated fatty acid [PUFA] residues, i.e. having two or more double bonds in their backbone

Abstract

The invention provides a ventilating/stirring culture tank that has a longitudinal tubular container 2 that is capable of freely containing culture fluid, within which a rotation shaft 3 that is supported coaxially with the axis of the container 2, a stirring impeller 4 that is attached to the rotation shaft in order to stir the culture fluid, and an air feed pipe 5 for feeding air into the container, are provided, and wherein an opening 6 for introducing culture medium material and fungal cells is provided in an upper part of the container, in which a ratio (H_T/D) of height (H_T) to inner diameter (D) of a cylindrical portion 7 of the container is greater than 3.8, and a baffle plate 8 for causing turbulence within the culture fluid that is being stirred is attached to an inner side of a peripheral wall of the container.

Claims

1. A ventilating/stirring culture tank comprising a longitudinal tubular container that is capable of freely containing culture fluid, within which a rotation shaft that is supported coaxially with the axis of the container, a stirring impeller that is attached to the rotation shaft in order to stir the culture fluid, and an air feed pipe for feeding air into the container, are provided, and wherein an opening for introducing culture medium material and fungal cells is provided in an upper part of the container,

wherein a ratio (H_T/D) of height (H_T) to inner diameter (D) of a cylindrical portion of the container is greater than 3.8, and a baffle plate for causing turbulence within the culture fluid that is being stirred is attached to an inner side of a peripheral wall of the container.

2. The ventilating/stirring culture tank according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of the stirring impeller are each detachably attached to the rotation shaft.

3. The ventilating/stirring culture tank according to claim 2,

wherein an interval (I) between the stirring impeller is less than twice a diameter (d) of the stirring impeller.

4. The ventilating/stirring culture tank according to claim 1,

wherein the stirring impeller is an impeller equipped with oblique blade.

5. The ventilating/stirring culture tank according to claim 1,

wherein an end portion of the air feed pipe is inserted into and opens up into the container bottom portion, and a base side of the air feed pipe is provided outside the container and its outer circumference is covered by insulating material.

6. A microorganism culture method that uses the ventilating/stirring culture tank according to claim 1.

7. The culture method according to claim 6,

wherein the microorganism is a filamentous fungus.

8. The culture method according to claim 7,

wherein the filamentous fungus is a filamentous fungus of the genus Mortierella.