Full-automatic fish running water type exposure system

Abstract

The invention provides a full-automatic fish running water type exposure system. The full-automatic fish running water type exposure system comprises a test water control module, a test solution preparation module and a test exposure module which are linked in sequence, the test water control module is used for storing and pretreating test water, the test solution preparation module is used for automatically preparing a test solution with a preset concentration, and the test exposure module is used for providing a stable exposure environment for fishes and monitoring environmental parameters in real time; the three modules operate cooperatively through a time control assembly, and semi-continuous automatic replacement of a test solution is achieved. The system has the beneficial effects that semi-continuous automatic preparation and replacement of a test solution are realized through cooperation of the three modules, the system can flexibly adapt to the stability of a test substance to adjust the solution replacement frequency, accurately maintain the concentration stability, greatly reduce the water resource consumption and the equipment cost, integrate temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen real-time monitoring and illumination regulation, solve the problem of non-uniform liquid medicine distribution, and improve the stability of the test solution. The test data reliability is obviously improved, and the toxicity test requirements of various fishes are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of environmental toxicology testing technology, specifically to a fully automated fish waterborne exposure system. Background Technology

[0002] Fish, as representative aquatic vertebrates, are important model organisms for environmental toxicology testing. Their toxicological data are crucial for the risk assessment of aquatic organisms exposed to chemical substances (chemicals, pesticides, veterinary drugs, pharmaceuticals, etc.). OECD-recommended fish toxicity testing methods include various types such as acute toxicity tests and early life stage toxicity tests. All tests require the tested substance to maintain a stable concentration in water for an extended period to simulate the toxic effects under real-world exposure scenarios. For testing of readily degradable and highly volatile chemicals, it is also necessary to achieve automatic and continuous entry of the solution into the exposure container and maintain a relatively constant liquid volume within the container relative to the test conditions.

[0003] In existing technologies, the continuous flow exposure system is the main equipment to meet the above requirements. It generally adopts a real-time solution preparation method: the test sample is prepared into a high-concentration stock solution with an organic co-solvent, and then mixed with the test water in real time by a precision peristaltic pump before being introduced into the exposure container. However, this type of system has obvious drawbacks: First, it has extremely high requirements for equipment precision, because the amount of solvent added must be controlled within one ten-thousandth of the water volume, resulting in high cost of stock solution injection equipment; second, it consumes a huge amount of water, causing water waste and increasing the pressure of waste liquid treatment; third, the test conditions are not stable, and expensive water treatment equipment is required to maintain parameters such as water temperature and pH, resulting in high equipment maintenance costs.

[0004] The device for a flowing-water fish exposure test proposed in patent CN109997765A, while improving the uneven distribution of the drug solution to some extent by combining a mixing section, a conveying section, and a testing section, and using a guide body to form a laminar flow, and achieving illumination control through an integrated fiber optic light source and maintaining the stability of the test system by controlling the water flow pressure through a drain valve, still fails to address the core pain points of existing technologies: reliance on precision equipment and high water consumption. Furthermore, its laminar flow formation mechanism relies on the coordinated control of a pressure tank and a water pump, resulting in a relatively complex structure. It does not achieve semi-continuous automatic preparation and flexible solution replacement of the test solution, and its effect on maintaining the long-term stability of easily degradable and highly volatile chemical concentrations is limited. The device lacks integrated real-time monitoring and precise control design for key environmental parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH, still posing a risk of fluctuations in test conditions and requiring significant human intervention, making it difficult to meet the comprehensive requirements of various fish toxicity tests for data reliability and ease of operation.

[0005] Existing flow-through exposure systems and related devices generally face multiple problems such as high equipment costs, large resource consumption, insufficient stability of drug concentration, incomplete control of environmental parameters, and low reliability of test data. Summary of the Invention

[0006] 1. The technical problem that the invention aims to solve: This invention provides a fully automated fish flow-through exposure system to solve the technical problems existing in the background art, such as high equipment cost, large resource consumption, insufficient stability of drug concentration, incomplete control of environmental parameters, and low reliability of test data.

[0007] 2. Technical Solution: To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows: a fully automatic fish flow-through exposure system, comprising a test water control module, a test solution preparation module and a test exposure module that are linked in sequence, and the three are connected and operated through a time control component to realize semi-continuous automatic replacement of the test solution; The test water control module is used to store and pre-treat the test water, including a treatment water tank and a time-controlled peristaltic pump. The treatment water tank is equipped with an aeration pump, a constant temperature heating rod and a float valve. The test solution preparation module is used to automatically prepare test solutions of preset concentrations. It includes multiple sets of preparation units with the same structure. Each set of preparation units includes a test solution preparation cylinder, a magnetic stirrer, a micro-injection pump, and a peristaltic pump. The experimental exposure module is used to provide a stable exposure environment for fish and monitor environmental parameters in real time. The experimental exposure module includes multiple sets of exposure units with the same structure. Each set of exposure units includes a biological exposure tank and a constant temperature water bath. There are seven sets of exposure units, which correspond one-to-one with the preparation unit.

[0008] Furthermore, the aeration pump injects air into the water through the aeration sand head, and the float valve maintains a constant water level in the tank; the time-controlled peristaltic pump has seven channels for pumping the treated water into the test solution preparation module at a set flow rate.

[0009] Furthermore, the test solution preparation cylinder has a covered structure, with a stainless steel long tube and a pressure balance valve on the cylinder cover. One stainless steel long tube is used to insert the test water inlet pipe and the test sample mother liquor inlet pipe, and the other stainless steel long tube is used to insert the test solution outlet pipe. The bottom side of the test solution preparation cylinder is provided with a cleaning drain port with a manual ball valve.

[0010] Furthermore, the magnetic stirrer is located at the bottom of the test solution preparation tank, and drives the stir bar inside the tank to rotate through magnetic attraction. All magnetic stirrers are synchronously controlled to start and stop by the same time control switch.

[0011] Furthermore, the output end of the micro-injection pump is connected to the stainless steel tube of the test solution preparation cylinder, and is used to inject a quantitative amount of test sample mother liquor, treated water or organic solvent into the test solution preparation cylinder.

[0012] Furthermore, the passage of the peristaltic pump corresponds one-to-one with the partitioned space of the biological exposure tank. The input end of the peristaltic pump is connected to the solution outlet of the test solution preparation tank, and the output end is connected to the exposure liquid inlet of the biological exposure tank.

[0013] Furthermore, the biological exposure cylinder has a slot at the midpoint of its inner wall, and an acrylic transparent partition is inserted into the slot, which divides the cylinder into 1-4 exposure spaces. Each exposure space has a cylinder cover with a pressure balancing valve and an exposure liquid inlet. The bottom side of the biological exposure cylinder has an exposure liquid outlet with an intelligent ball valve.

[0014] Furthermore, the biological exposure tank is equipped with an intelligent monitoring probe for real-time monitoring of solution temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. A mesh partition is inserted inside the outlet of the exposure liquid. The upper half of the mesh partition is a transparent acrylic plate and the lower half is a perforated acrylic plate.

[0015] Furthermore, the constant temperature water bath is equipped with a water chiller and heater on both sides to maintain a constant temperature of the solution in the biological exposure tank. An LED timer control panel is fixed on the constant temperature water bath to set the light cycle required for the experiment.

[0016] 3. Beneficial effects: Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided by this invention has the following advantages: High concentration stability: The frequency of liquid exchange can be freely adjusted according to the stability of the test substance in water, and the concentration of the test substance can be maintained stably through a semi-continuous solution preparation method, meeting the requirements of various fish toxicity tests; Low resource consumption: No need for 24-hour real-time solution preparation, significantly reducing the amount of water used in experiments and alleviating the pressure of waste liquid treatment; Low equipment cost: No need for expensive precision peristaltic pumps; precise liquid preparation is achieved through the collaboration of conventional timing components and syringe pumps, reducing equipment procurement and maintenance costs. Controllable test conditions: Through designs such as constant temperature, aeration, and real-time monitoring, the stability of parameters such as water temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen is ensured, and environmental interference is reduced; High degree of automation: The entire process of preparing, delivering, and changing solutions is completed automatically, reducing the workload of test personnel and human error, and improving test efficiency and data reliability.

[0017] It should be noted that the structures not described in this invention are not related to the design points and improvement directions of this invention, and are the same as or can be implemented using existing technologies, so they will not be elaborated here. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall system operation flow of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the test water control module of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the test solution preparation module of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the test exposure module structure of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the biological exposure cylinder of the present invention after an explosion.

[0019] Figure label: 1. Treatment water tank; 11. Aeration pump; 12. Constant temperature heating rod; 13. Float valve; 14. Aeration sand head; 2. Time-controlled peristaltic pump; 3. Test solution preparation tank; 31. Cleaning drain outlet; 32. Stainless steel long pipe; 33. Air pressure balancing valve; 34. Manual ball valve; 4. Magnetic stirrer; 5. Micro-injection pump; 6. Peristaltic pump; 7. Biological exposure tank; 71. Intelligent monitoring probe; 72. Mesh partition; 73. Acrylic transparent partition; 74. Air pressure balancing valve; 75. Exposure liquid inlet; 76. Intelligent ball valve; 77. Exposure liquid outlet; 8. Constant temperature water bath; 81. Hot and cold water machine; 9. LED timer control panel. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a more complete description of the invention will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of the invention will be more thorough and complete.

[0021] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "page," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0022] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0023] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "linked," "fixed," "provided with," and "located in" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0024] See attached document Figure 1-5 A fully automated fish water-based exposure system is characterized by comprising a test water control module, a test solution preparation module, and a test exposure module that are linked in sequence. The test water control module is used to store and pre-treat the test water, the test solution preparation module is used to automatically prepare test solutions of preset concentrations, and the test exposure module is used to provide a stable exposure environment for fish and monitor environmental parameters in real time. The three modules work together through a time control component to achieve semi-continuous automatic replacement of the test solution.

[0025] The test water control module consists of two parts: a treatment water tank 1 and a time-controlled peristaltic pump 2. The treated water tank 1 includes three components: an aeration pump 11, a constant temperature heating rod 12, and a float valve 13. The treated water used for testing is purified and dechlorinated before entering the treated water tank 1 through the inlet. During the process of entering the tank, the float valve 13 ensures that the water level is dynamically maintained at a set height to meet the needs of solution preparation. The aeration pump 11 injects air into the treated water through the aeration sand head 14 to ensure that the dissolved oxygen in the treated water meets the test requirements. During the storage process, the constant temperature heating rod 12 ensures that the temperature of the treated water remains constant within the set temperature range. The time-controlled peristaltic pump 2 has seven independent peristaltic pump channels. When the solution is prepared, the time control switch starts at the set time point and pumps the treated water stored in the treated water tank 1 into each solution preparation cylinder at the set flow rate. By setting the start and stop time of the peristaltic pump, the same volume of treated water is pumped into the solution preparation cylinder at the same time period, waiting for the test solution to be prepared.

[0026] The test solution preparation module consists of seven identical preparation units. Each preparation unit includes four components: a test solution preparation cylinder 3, a magnetic stirrer 4, a micro-injection pump 5, and a peristaltic pump 6. The test solution preparation cylinder 3 is a stainless steel covered cube, measuring 20cm x 20cm x 20cm, with a maximum preparation volume of 8L. The inner ring of the cylinder cover has a rubber sealing ring to seal the solution preparation cylinder. There are two stainless steel tubes 32 on the left and right sides of the cylinder cover, which are connected to the outside. One tube can be inserted into the test water inlet tube and the test sample mother liquor inlet tube, and the other tube is inserted into the test solution outlet tube leading to the peristaltic pump 6, used to extract the prepared test solution. In addition, there is a set of air pressure balancing valves 33 on the cylinder cover to balance the air pressure inside and outside the test solution preparation cylinder 3, preventing the solution from being unable to flow in or out of the cylinder due to pressure. There is a cleaning drain outlet 31 on the bottom side of the test solution preparation cylinder, controlled by a manual ball valve 34, used for draining wastewater during the cleaning process of the test solution preparation cylinder. The magnetic stirrer 4 is located at the bottom of the test solution preparation cylinder 3. It drives the stir bar inside the cylinder to rotate by magnetic attraction, so as to achieve the function of mixing the solution. All magnetic stirrers 4 are controlled by a timer switch. During the solution preparation period, they are automatically turned on and off at the same time. Before the solution is prepared, the test substance is dissolved in an organic solvent to prepare test substance stock solutions of different concentrations (the blank control group uses treated water, and the solvent control group uses the organic solvent used for preparation). These stock solutions are added to the syringes of the micro-injection pumps 5. During the solution preparation stage, all micro-injection pumps 5 are controlled by a micro-injection pump timer. Within the set time period, equal amounts of test substance stock solutions (treated water and organic solvent) are injected into the test solution preparation cylinder through the tubing inserted into the solution inlet tube. The stock solutions are stirred and mixed with the treated water in the cylinder to obtain the test solution of the corresponding concentration. After the test solution is prepared, it is pumped from the solution outlet into the corresponding biological exposure tank through the peristaltic pump 6 corresponding to each test solution preparation tank 3. The peristaltic pump 6 used to extract the test solution has four channels, corresponding to the four sub-spaces in the biological exposure tank. The peristaltic pump 6 is controlled by the peristaltic pump timer and starts simultaneously at the same time after the test solution is prepared, transferring all the test solution from the test solution preparation tank 3 to the biological exposure tank.

[0027] The test exposure module includes seven sets of identical exposure units. Each set of exposure units includes a biological exposure tank 7 and a constant temperature water bath 8. The number of exposure units is seven, corresponding one-to-one with the preparation units in the test solution preparation module. The biological exposure tank 7 is also a covered cube, but made of an inert transparent material, such as tempered glass or acrylic. Its dimensions are the same as the test solution preparation tank 3. The tank cover also has a rubber sealing ring to seal the entire biological exposure tank 7. There is a groove at the midpoint of its inner wall, into which an acrylic transparent partition 73 can be inserted for spatial isolation, depending on the needs of different experiments (e.g., for acute toxicity tests that do not require replicates, the partition can be removed to make the exposure tank a single space; for early life stage toxicity tests of fish, which require four replicates, the acrylic transparent partition 73 can be inserted to isolate the exposure tank into four exposure spaces). The tank cover has four sets of pressure balancing valves 74 and an exposure liquid flow valve. The inlet 75 corresponds to four partitioned spaces within the tank. Each partitioned space has an exposure solution outlet 77 on its bottom side. A pluggable mesh partition 72 is located on the inner side of the tank near the exposure solution outlet 77. The upper half of the mesh partition 72 is a transparent acrylic plate, and the lower half is a perforated acrylic plate. This plate is used to isolate the test fish and prevent them from being sucked away during drainage. The exposure solution outlet 77 is controlled by a smart ball valve 76, which can be opened and closed at timed intervals during the discharge of the old test solution. A smart monitoring probe 71 is also installed inside the biological exposure tank 7 to monitor the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen levels of the test solution in real time, ensuring that the solution meets the experimental requirements. Each biological exposure tank 7 is placed in a large constant temperature water bath 8. There is a water chiller 81 on each side of the constant temperature water bath 8. During the experimental exposure, the water chiller 81 continuously circulates the water in the constant temperature water bath 8 to ensure that the solution temperature in the biological exposure tank 7 remains constant. At the top of each biological exposure tank, there is an LED timer control lamp panel 9 fixed on the constant temperature water bath 8. The illumination cycle of the lamp panel can be set according to the experimental needs.

[0028] In this embodiment, the specific implementation method is as follows: Before the experiment, the stability of the test substance in the treated water and its toxicity to the test fish were determined through preliminary experiments. The frequency of liquid change per day (24 hours) (e.g., 6 hours, 8 hours or 12 hours / time) and the concentration of the test solution in each biological exposure tank 7 were determined. According to the experimental requirements, the biological exposure tank 7 was divided into a corresponding number of exposure spaces by acrylic transparent partitions 73 (e.g., the early life stage toxicity test was divided into 4 replicate spaces). Step 1: Start the test water control module. After purification and dechlorination, the treated water enters the treated water tank 1. The float valve 13 maintains a constant water level. The aeration pump 11 and the constant temperature heating rod 12 adjust the dissolved oxygen and water temperature to the set values, respectively. Step 2: The timed peristaltic pump 2 starts at the set time and synchronously pumps the quantitatively treated water into the seven sets of test solution preparation cylinders 3, and then shuts off after the preset volume is reached. Step 3: Start the magnetic stirrer 4, and at the same time, the micro-injection pump 5, under the control of the timer, injects a quantitative amount of test sample mother liquor (or treated water, organic solvent) into each preparation tank. After stirring and mixing, a test solution of the preset concentration is obtained. Step 4: After stirring is complete, peristaltic pump 6 starts synchronously, transferring all the prepared test solution to the corresponding biological exposure tank 7, then peristaltic pump 6 is turned off, and the exposure stage begins; Step 5: During the exposure phase, the hot and cold water heaters 81 on both sides of the constant temperature water bath 8 and the LED light panel 9 at the top continue to run, and the intelligent monitoring probe 71 monitors the solution parameters in real time. Step 6: When the preset solution replacement time is reached, the intelligent ball valve 76 opens to discharge the old solution. At the same time, the solution preparation and delivery process of steps 2 to 4 is repeated. After the new solution is injected, the intelligent ball valve 76 is closed to complete one solution replacement. The above process is repeated until the end of the test.

[0029] During the experiment, the solution parameters were observed in real time through the intelligent monitoring probe 71, and adjustments were made promptly if any abnormalities occurred. After the experiment, the manual ball valve 34 of the test solution preparation tank 3 and the intelligent ball valve 76 of the biological exposure tank 7 were opened to drain the residual solution. The solution was then rinsed with clean water through the cleaning drain 31 and dried for later use.

[0030] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of certain implementations of the present invention, and are described in a relatively specific and detailed manner. However, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are all within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fully automated fish flow-through exposure system, characterized in that, It includes a test water control module, a test solution preparation module, and a test exposure module that are linked in sequence. The three modules are connected by a time control component and then operate to achieve semi-continuous automatic replacement of the test solution. The test water control module is used to store and pre-treat the test water, including a treatment water tank (1) and a time-controlled peristaltic pump (2). The treatment water tank (1) is equipped with an aeration pump (11), a constant temperature heating rod (12) and a float valve (13). The test solution preparation module is used to automatically prepare test solutions of preset concentrations. It includes multiple sets of preparation units with the same structure. Each set of preparation units includes a test solution preparation cylinder (3), a magnetic stirrer (4), a micro-injection pump (5), and a peristaltic pump (6). The test exposure module is used to provide a stable exposure environment for fish and monitor environmental parameters in real time. The test exposure module includes multiple sets of exposure units with the same structure. Each set of exposure units includes a biological exposure tank (7) and a constant temperature water bath (8). There are seven sets of exposure units, which correspond one-to-one with the preparation unit.

2. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aeration pump (11) injects air into the water through the aeration sand head (14), and the float valve (13) maintains a constant water level in the tank; the time-controlled peristaltic pump (2) has seven channels for pumping the treated water into the test solution preparation module at a set flow rate.

3. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The test solution preparation cylinder (3) has a covered structure. The cylinder cover is equipped with a stainless steel long tube (32) and a pressure balance valve (33). One stainless steel long tube (32) is used to insert the test water inlet tube and the test sample mother liquor inlet tube, and the other stainless steel long tube (32) is used to insert the test solution outlet tube. The bottom side of the test solution preparation cylinder (3) is equipped with a cleaning drain outlet (31) with a manual ball valve (34).

4. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The magnetic stirrer (4) is located at the bottom of the test solution preparation tank (3). It drives the stir bar inside the tank to rotate through magnetic attraction, and all magnetic stirrers (4) are controlled to start and stop synchronously by the same time control switch.

5. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output end of the micro-injection pump (5) is connected to the stainless steel tube (32) of the test solution preparation cylinder (3) to inject a quantitative amount of test sample mother liquor, treated water or organic solvent into the test solution preparation cylinder (3).

6. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The passage of the peristaltic pump (6) corresponds one-to-one with the partition space of the biological exposure tank (7). The input end of the peristaltic pump (6) is connected to the solution outlet of the test solution preparation tank (3), and the output end is connected to the exposure liquid inlet of the biological exposure tank (7).

7. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The biological exposure tank (7) has a slot at the midpoint of its inner wall, and an acrylic transparent partition (73) is inserted into the slot. The acrylic transparent partition (73) divides the tank into 1-4 exposure spaces. Each exposure space has a pressure balance valve (74) and an exposure liquid inlet (75) on its cylinder cover. The bottom side of the biological exposure tank (7) has an exposure liquid outlet (77) with an intelligent ball valve (76).

8. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The biological exposure tank (7) is also equipped with an intelligent monitoring probe (71) for real-time monitoring of solution temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. A mesh partition (72) is inserted inside the outlet (77) of the exposure liquid. The upper half of the mesh partition (72) is a transparent acrylic plate and the lower half is a perforated acrylic plate.

9. The fully automated fish flow-through exposure system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The constant temperature water bath (8) is equipped with a water heater (81) on both sides to maintain a constant solution temperature in the biological exposure tank (7). The constant temperature water bath (8) is fixed with an LED timer control lamp (9) to set the required light cycle for the experiment.

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