Photo Bioreactor with Light Distributor and Method for the Production of a Photosynthetic Culture

• US 20100167381A1
• Filed: 03/19/2008
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Feyecon Development & Implementation B.V. (Folium Biosciences LLC)
• Original Assignee: Feyecon Development & Implementation B.V. (Folium Biosciences LLC)
• Inventors: Siewers, Ernst-Jan, Woerlee, Geert Feye
• Granted Patent: US 8,569,049 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/257.100
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 21/02 Photobioreactors culturing algae A01G33/00, A01H4/001, C12N1/12
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 23/02 Form or structure of the vessel large containers B65D88/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 23/56 Floating elements
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 31/08 by conducting or reflecting elements located inside the reactor or in its structure
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 41/10 Filtering the incident radiation

Abstract

The invention provides a photo bioreactor (1) comprising a vessel (10) containing an aqueous liquid comprising a photosynthetic culture and a light distributor (30). The light distributor has a surface (31) arranged to receive light (40) and a tapered surface (32) arranged to emit at least part of the received light. At least part of the tapered surface. (32) is submerged in the aqueous liquid comprising the photosynthetic culture. Light may be distributed efficiently in the aqueous liquid comprising the photosynthetic culture by relatively simple and cheap means. The reactor allows a high illuminated volume fraction.

Claims

1-37. -37. (canceled)

38. A photo bioreactor (1) comprising a vessel (10) containing an aqueous liquid (20) comprising a photosynthetic culture (21) and a construction (300) comprising a light distributor or a plurality of light distributors (30),

wherein the light distributor or distributors (30) has or have a surface (31) arranged to receive light (40) and a tapered surface (32) arranged to emit at least part of the received light (40), and

wherein at least part of the light distributor'"'"'s tapered surface (32) is submerged in the aqueous liquid (20).

39. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the construction (300) is corrugated, and the light distributors (30) are in the form of corrugations.

40. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 39, wherein the light distributors (30) are wedge-shaped or curved and have tapered surfaces (32).

41. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the light distributor or distributors (30) has or have a shape selected from the group consisting of conical, parabolic, pyramid-like, truncated cones, tetrahedrons, pentagonal pyramids, triangular cupolas, square cupolas, pentagonal cupolas, pentagonal rotundas, elongated square pyramids, elongated tetrahedrons, elongated pentagonal pyramids, elongated triangular cupolas, elongated square cupolas, elongated pentagonal cupolas, and elongated pentagonal rotundas.

42. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein at least part of the tapered surface (32) comprises a reflector (33) arranged to reflect at least part of the received light (40) back into the light distributor (30), wherein the reflector (33) is arranged to transmit at least part of the received light (40).

43. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, comprising a second body (60) that comprises a cavity (61) having a tapered surface (62),

wherein the light distributor (30) and the second body (60) are configured so that the light distributor (30) is at least partly situated in the cavity (61) and wherein the tapered surface (62) and the tapered surface (32) of the light distributor (30) are separated by a distance (d2).

44. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 43 wherein the cavity (61) and the light distributor (30) have substantially corresponding shapes.

45. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 43 wherein said second body (60) comprises a plurality of cavities (61).

46. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the vessel (10) is selected from the group consisting of a man-made vessel, a pond, a part of a pond, a lake, a part of a lake, a part of a brook, a part of a river, a part of a canal, or a part of a sea.

48. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the tapered surface (32) is straight and has an angle α

with longitudinal axis (100) of the light distributor (30).

49. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the tapered surface (32) is curved.

50. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 49, wherein the curved tapered surface (32) is parabolically curved.

51. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the light distributor (30) is a hollow body that is suitable for containing a liquid or a solid material.

52. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 38, wherein the light distributor consists essentially of a transparent material, and wherein the ratio of the surface area of surface (32) to the surface area of surface (31) is in the range of 2 to 50.

53. The photo bioreactor (1) according to claim 52, wherein the ratio is in the range of 5 to 30.

54. A method for growing cells in a photosynthetic cell culture (21) comprising:

(a) providing an aqueous liquid (20) and the photosynthetic culture (21) to a vessel (10) of the photo bioreactor according to claim 38;

(b) submerging at least part of the tapered surface(s) (32) of the light distributor or distributors (30) in the aqueous liquid (20) of the photosynthetic culture (21); and

(c) providing light to (40) the surface(s) (31) of the light distributor or distributors (30).

55. The method according to claim 54, further comprising providing a flow in the aqueous liquid (20) comprising the photosynthetic culture (21) in the vessel (10).

56. The method according to claim 54, wherein the photo bioreactor (1) comprises a second body (60) that comprises a plurality of cavities (61), which second body (60) has a tapered surface (62),

wherein the tapered surface (62) and the tapered surface (32) of the light distributor (30) are separated by a distance (d2), and

wherein the plurality of light distributors (30) are at least partly arranged in the cavities (61) in a male-female configuration.

57. The method according to claim 54, wherein cells in the photosynthetic culture comprise algae.

58. A photosynthetic culture produced by the method according to claim 54 wherein the cells in the culture comprise algae or microalgae.

47. A light distributor (30) for a photo bioreactor (1) comprising a vessel (10) containing an aqueous liquid (20) that comprises a photosynthetic culture (21), the light distributor (30) comprising:

(i) a surface (31) arranged to receive light (40) from a source outside the aqueous liquid (20) and

(ii) a tapered surface (32) arranged to emit at least part of the received light (40) into the aqueous liquid (20),

wherein the shape of the light distributor (30) is selected from the group consisting of conical, parabolic, pyramid-like, truncated cones, tetrahedrons, pentagonal pyramids, triangular cupolas, square cupolas, pentagonal cupolas, pentagonal rotundas, elongated square pyramids, elongated tetrahedrons, elongated pentagonal pyramids, elongated triangular cupolas, elongated square cupolas, elongated pentagonal cupolas, and elongated pentagonal rotundas.