METHOD FOR CONTROLLED OPERATION OF A BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPARATUS AND BIOREACTOR SYSTEM

• US 20140255910A1
• Filed: 10/10/2012
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DASGIP Information and Process Technology GmbH
• Original Assignee: DASGIP Information and Process Technology GmbH
• Inventors: Arnold, Matthias, Ertel, Guido, Selzer, Sebastian
• Granted Patent: US 9,745,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/3
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 41/12 of temperature controlling the temperature of chemical or physical processes B01J19/0013, heating or cooling apparatus for laboratory use B01L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 41/48 Automatic or computerized control automatic analysis G01N35/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

A method for controlling electrical power consumption for a first group of functional which can be used for operational management during operation of the bioreactor components during operation comprises, inter alia, adjusting a present power control signal for one or more of the functional components from the first group in order to optimise power consumption, when a comparison shows for the first group of functional components that the currently required total electrical power consumption is greater than a predefined total electrical power consumption, such that, for the first group of functional components, an adjusted total electrical power consumption is not greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption. A biotechnological apparatus comprises a bioreactor, a reactor vessel formed in the bioreactor and having a cultivation chamber, and a temperature control device provided with a heat pump and configured to control the temperature of the cultivation chamber.

Claims

1. A method for controlled operation of a biotechnological apparatus comprising one or more bioreactors, functional components each assigned to at least one bioreactor and which can be used for operational management during operation of the at least one bioreactor, and a control unit coupled to a first group of functional components in order to give control signals during operation to at least the first group of functional components, wherein the method for controlling electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components during operation comprises:

providing electronic information about a predefined total electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components in the control unit,

generating a respective present power control signal for the functional components of the first group of functional components in the control unit,

determining, in the control unit, a currently required total electrical power consumption for a present operating situation resulting when the respective present power control signal for the first group of functional components is taken into consideration,

adjusting the respective present power control signal for one or more of the functional components from the first group of functional components in order to optimise power consumption, when a comparison shows for the first group of functional components that the currently required total electrical power consumption is greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption, such that, for the first group of functional components, an adjusted total electrical power consumption is not greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption when taking into consideration the one or more adjusted power control signals and selectively remaining, unadjusted present power control signals, and

outputting the one or more adjusted power control signals and the selectively remaining unadjusted present power control signals via the control unit to the functional components of the first group of functional components.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when determining the present total electrical power consumption for the functional components from the first group of functional components, a dynamic power reserve respectively assigned to the functional components of the first group is taken into consideration.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a predefined total electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components, in which the predefined total electrical power consumption is determined as the difference between a maximum total electrical power consumption available for the functional components in operation and an electrical power consumption assigned to a second group of functional components, wherein the functional components of the second group, unlike the functional components of the first group, are excluded from adjustment of the present power control signal respectively assigned to them at least whenever the adjustment would cause a reduction in power for the respective functional component.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising determining an electrical power consumption allocated to the second group of functional components, in such a way that a respective maximum electrical power consumption is added up for the functional components of the second group, taking into consideration a dynamic power reserve respectively allocated to the functional components.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising determining a maximum total electrical power consumption available for the functional components during operation in such a way that a lower threshold value is determined for the maximum total available electrical power consumption, and that the lower threshold value is used when determining the predefined total electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusted power control signal is determined for the one or more functional components from the first group of functional components respectively in such a way that the power consumption adjusted according to the adjusted power control signal is always smaller than or equal to a maximum electrical power consumption of the respective functional component.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a relative power distribution is maintained when adjusting the respective present power control signal for a plurality of the functional components from the first group of functional components.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrical power consumption is performed for functional components of one or more component types from the following group:

temperature control device, sensor unit, mixing device, stirrer drive, valve, fluid conveying device and pump drive.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the present power control signal for one or more of the functional components from the first group of functional components is adjusted for greater utilization of the predefined total electrical power consumption when the comparison shows that the present total electrical power consumption is smaller for the first group of functional components than the predefined total electrical power consumption, in such a way that an adjusted total electrical power consumption results that is greater than the currently required total electrical power consumption and not greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein adjusting the respective present power control signal for optimising power consumption and/or adjusting the respective present power control signal for greater utilization of the predefined total electrical power consumption includes a redistribution of power among the plurality of functional components from the first group of functional components.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when adjusting the respective present power control signal for optimising power consumption and/or when adjusting the respective present power control signal for greater utilization of the predefined total electrical power consumption, one or more of the functional components from the first group of functional components are switched on and/or switched off.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components is controlled in an external control loop which is coupled to one or more internal control loops.

13. A biotechnological apparatus comprising one or more bioreactors, functional components each assigned to at least one bioreactor and which can be used for operational management during operation of the at least one bioreactor, and a control unit coupled to a first group of functional components in order to give control signals during operation to at least the first group of functional components, wherein the control unit is configured to control an electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components during operation in accordance with a method comprising:

providing electronic information about a predefined total electrical power consumption for the first group of functional components in the control unit,

generating a respective present power control signal for the functional components of the first group of functional components in the control unit,

determining, in the control unit, a currently required total electrical power consumption for a present operating situation resulting when the respective present power control signal for the first group of functional components is taken into consideration,

adjusting the respective present power control signal for one or more of the functional components from the first group of functional components in order to optimise power consumption, when a comparison shows for the first group of functional components that the currently required total electrical power consumption is greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption, such that, for the first group of functional components, an adjusted total electrical power consumption is not greater than the predefined total electrical power consumption when taking into consideration the one or more adjusted power control signals and selectively remaining, unadjusted present power control signals, and

outputting the one or more adjusted power control signals and the selectively remaining unadjusted present power control signals via the control unit to the functional components of the first group of functional components.

14. A biotechnological apparatus comprising:

a bioreactor,

a reactor vessel formed in the bioreactor and having a cultivation chamber, and

a temperature control device provided with a heat pump and configured to control the temperature of the cultivation chamber, wherein the heat pump is thermally coupled to the cultivation chamber via the reactor vessel and to a reference body forming a heat source potential for the heat pump and made of a heat-conducting material, and transfers useful heat, with supply of drive energy, from the reactor vessel to the reference body, or vice versa.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the heat pump is a heat pump which can be driven by electrical drive energy.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the reactor vessel is arranged in a vessel receptacle and the heat pump is thermally coupled to the reactor vessel via the vessel receptacle.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the reference body is thermally coupled to an operating environment of the bioreactor.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the reference body is thermally coupled to the operating environment of the bioreactor via an adjustable thermal resistance.

19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the heat pump is coupled to a controller which is configured to control, during operation of the bioreactor, the supply of drive energy for transferring the useful heat from the reactor vessel to the reference body, or vice versa, in accordance with a predefined operational management scheme.

20. (canceled)

21. A method for controlling the temperature of a cultivation chamber in a biotechnological apparatus having a bioreactor, a reactor vessel formed in the bioreactor with a cultivation chamber, and a temperature control device, the method comprising:

supplying a setpoint value for a cultivation temperature in the cultivation chamber to a setpoint value input of a temperature controller,

detecting a process value for the cultivation temperature using a temperature sensor unit and supplying the process value to a process value input of the temperature controller, and

generating a temperature control signal by processing the setpoint value and the process value for the cultivation temperature in the temperature controller,

outputting the temperature control signal via an output of the temperature controller, and

receiving of the temperature control signal by a heat pump controller and controlling of the input of drive energy into the heat pump by the heat pump controller according to the temperature control signal.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein external temperature control is performed at least in part by the temperature controller and internal temperature control is performed at least in part by an additional temperature controller, the method further comprising:

supplying the temperature control signal outputted by the temperature controller to a setpoint value input of the additional temperature controller,

detecting a process value for the temperature of a heat exchanger via which the heat pump is thermally coupled to the reactor vessel, by at least an additional temperature sensor unit and supplying the process value to a process value input of the additional temperature controller,

generating an adjusted temperature control signal by processing the setpoint value and the process value in the additional temperature controller,

outputting the adjusted temperature control signal via an output of the additional temperature controller, and

receiving of the adjusted temperature control signal by the heat pump controller and controlling of the input of drive energy into the heat pump by the heat pump controller according to the adjusted temperature control signal.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the method further comprises:

supplying a power control signal corresponding to the temperature control signal/the adjusted temperature control signal to a setpoint value input of a power controller included in the heat pump controller,

detecting a process value for electrical power consumed by the heat pump and supplying the process value to a process value input of the power controller,

generating an adjusted power control signal by processing the setpoint value and the process value in the power controller,

outputting the adjusted power control signal via an output of the power controller, and

receiving of the adjusted power control signal by a controller of the heat pump controller assigned to the heat pump and controlling of the input of drive energy into the heat pump by at least the controller in accordance with the adjusted power control signal.

24-25. -25. (canceled)