Method of culturing algae capable of producing phototrophic pigments, highly unsaturated fatty acids, or polysaccharides at high concentration

• US 6,579,714 B1
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bioreal, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micro Gaia Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Hirabayashi, Seishiro, Sadamatsu, Hisato, Prilutsky, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Beisner, William H.
• Application Number:
  US09/831,905
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 435/292.1, 435/296.1, 435/257.1, 435/257.3, 435/101, 435/134, 47/14, 210/220, 261/121.1, 261/123, 261/124, 239/722, 239/754, 239/263, 239/264, 239/229, 239/233
• US Class Current: 435/292.1
• 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 23/46 Means for fastening
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 31/02 located outside the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 33/00 Means for introduction, transport, positioning, extraction, harvesting, peeling or sampling of biological material in or from the apparatus chemical or physical laboratory apparatus in general B01L, devices for taking cell samples A61B10/0045, withdrawing or distributing predetermined quantities of fluid B01L99/00

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for cultivation and manufacturing efficiently algae containing useful substances in cells thereof in a high concentration. According to conventional cultivation apparatus, shear stress applied to algae causes difficulty of high density cultivation; however, by cultivation of algae by using a convenient cultivation apparatus having a dome shape, conical shape, or cylindrical shape and made by a clear material, high density cultivation has been realized without shear stress. The present cultivation apparatus realizes more efficient cultivation in combined use with a separate gas discharging apparatus. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of algal species having ability to produce highly unsaturated fatty acid, a photosynthetic pigment, or a polysaccharide.

Claims

1. A method for culturing algae, which has ability of producing a highly unsaturated fatty acid, and/or a photosynthetic pigment, and/or a polysaccharide, in a high density in a medium, the method comprising the step of:

cultivating algae in a cultivation apparatus under light irradiation and aeration conditions to manufacture the algae containing the highly unsaturated fatty acid, and/or the photosynthetic pigment, and/or the polysaccharide, wherein said cultivation apparatus is that selected from those with any one shape of a dome shape, a conical shape, or a cylindrical shape;

the cultivation apparatus with the dome shape comprises an external hemispheric dome made from a clear material, an internal hemispheric dome made from the clear material, and a bottom part connecting bottom end parts of both the domes, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on a top part of the external hemispheric dome and a leading member for air and/or carbon dioxide gas and a discharging member for the culture solution are installed on the bottom part;

the cultivation apparatus with the conical shape comprises an external conical circumferential wall made of the clear material, a clear internal conical circumferential wall, and a bottom part connecting bottom end parts of both the circumferential walls, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on the top part of the external conical circumferential wall and a leading member for air and/or carbon dioxide gas and a discharging member for the culture solution are installed on the bottom part;

or, the cultivation apparatus with the cylindrical shape comprises an external cylindrical circumferential wall having an upper wall made of the clear material, an internal cylindrical circumferential wall having an upper wall made of the clear material, and a bottom part connecting bottom end parts of both the circumferential walls, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on a central part of the upper wall of the external cylindrical circumferential wall and a leading member for air and/or carbon dioxide gas and a discharging member for the culture solution are installed on the bottom part.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said clear material is at least one material selected from an acrylic resin, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said cultivation apparatus the outside of the cylindrical opening member of the cultivation apparatus has further a water spraying member and an outer circumference of the bottom part has a water spray-receiving member.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of cultivating algae in a cultivation apparatus comprises continuous cultivation in the cultivation apparatus in which an artificial light source is further installed in the internal hemispheric dome and an inside space of the internal conical circumferential wall or the internal cylindrical circumferential wall of the cultivation apparatus.

5. A method for culturing algae, which has ability of producing the highly unsaturated fatty acid, and/or the photosynthetic pigment, and/or the polysaccharide, in the high concentration in the medium, said method comprising the step of:

cultivating algae in a cultivation apparatus under light irradiation and aeration conditions to manufacture the algae abundantly containing the highly saturated fatty acid, and/or the photosynthetic pigment, and/or the polysaccharide, wherein said cultivation apparatus comprises a main body of the cultivation apparatus and a gas discharging apparatus; and

the main body of the cultivation apparatus is the cultivation apparatus with a dome shape, conical shape, or cylindrical shape, wherein

the cultivation apparatus with the dome shape comprises an external hemispheric dome made from a clear material, an the internal hemispheric dome made from the clear material, and a bottom part connecting bottom parts of both the domes, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on the top part of the external hemispheric dome and the discharging apparatus for the culture solution is installed on the bottom part;

the cultivation apparatus with the conical shape comprises an external conical circumferential wall made of the clear material, an internal conical circumferential wall made from the clear material, and a bottom part connecting bottom end parts of both the circumferential walls, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on the top part of the external conical circumferential wall and the discharging apparatus for the culture solution is installed on the bottom part;

or, the cultivation apparatus with the cylindrical shape comprises an external cylindrical circumferential wall having an upper wall made of the clear material, an internal cylindrical circumferential wall having an upper wall made of the clear material, and a bottom part connecting bottom end parts of both the circumferential walls, and a cylindrical opening member is installed on the central part of the upper wall of the external cylindrical circumferential wall and the discharging apparatus for the culture solution is installed on the bottom part;

the gas discharging apparatus is configured by opposite two square base boards, a bubble leading member, of which section has a square shape lacking a side or a reversed U-shape, opened downward, and a discharge nozzle, the bubble leading member is installed with inclination to an upper side face of the square base board, forms the upper wall made by extending an inclined wall of the upper face of the bubble leading member by bending almost horizontally in the upper end part, and has a side wall extending from both the side ends of the inclined wall and the upper wall, and each of the bottom end parts of both the side walls are jointed on the two upper side faces of the square based board, and the discharge nozzle is rotatably attached through a via hole made in the bottom part of the inclined wall.

6. The method according to claim 5, the clear material consisting of the main body of the cultivation apparatus is one or more material selected from the acrylic resin, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said cultivation apparatus comprises a water spraying member further installed in outside of the cylindrical opening member and a water spray receiving member further installed in the outer circumference of the bottom part of the main body of the cultivation apparatus.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein said cultivating step comprises continuous cultivation in the cultivation apparatus in which an artificial light source is further installed in the internal hemispheric dome and the inside space of the internal conical circumferential wall or the internal cylindrical circumferential wall of the cultivation apparatus.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein in said cultivation apparatus, the gas discharge apparatus for air and/or carbon dioxide gas is further installed on the bottom part of the main body of the cultivation apparatus.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein said cultivation apparatus further comprises the gas discharge apparatus in which at least any one of the square base boards thereof is bent to a same direction in a front end part and/or a rear end part and/or a rear end part.

11. The method according to claim 5, wherein said cultivation apparatus further comprises the gas discharge apparatus in which at least any one of two square base boards thereof has weight-adjusting means.