Gas production apparatus and culture system

Abstract

The present invention provides a gas production apparatus capable of producing a mixed gas containing two types of gases at a desired mixing ratio while removing a specific gas, and a culture system capable of culturing microorganisms using the mixed gas produced by the gas production apparatus.SOLUTION: A gas introduction part configured to introduce a first mixed gas containing a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas; A concentrated mixed gas generation unit configured to generate concentrated mixed gas in which a total concentration of the second gas and the third gas is 90% or more from the first exhaust gas, and a concentration adjustment unit configured to adjust a mixing ratio of the second gas and the third gas by adding the second gas and / or the third gas to the concentrated mixed gas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas production apparatus and a culture system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in order to realize a carbon-neutral society, efforts have been made to separate and capture carbon dioxide from exhaust gases emitted from power generation facilities and the atmosphere (hereinafter simply referred to as exhaust gases, etc.), and to produce carbon compounds from the captured carbon dioxide or to cultivate microorganisms using the carbon dioxide (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-159666 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Microorganisms such as hydrogen bacteria require hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen for cultivation. Some hydrogen bacteria accumulate biodegradable plastics within their cells under nitrogen-starved conditions. In order to produce biodegradable plastics using such bacteria, it is preferable to generate a mixed gas containing high-purity carbon dioxide and oxygen with a low nitrogen concentration, and to use this mixed gas in the culture section to culture microorganisms, from the perspective of efficiently producing biodegradable plastics.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas production device that can produce a mixed gas containing two types of gases at a desired mixing ratio while removing a specific gas, and a culture system that can culture microorganisms using the mixed gas produced by the gas production device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a gas manufacturing apparatus comprising: a gas introduction section that introduces a first mixed gas containing a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas; a first gas concentration section that generates a first concentrated gas by concentrating the first gas from the first mixed gas and separates the first concentrated gas from a first exhaust gas containing the second gas and the third gas; a concentrated mixed gas generation section that generates a concentrated mixed gas from the first exhaust gas in which the total concentration of the second gas and the third gas is 90% or more; and a concentration adjustment section that adds the second gas and / or the third gas to the concentrated mixed gas to adjust the mixing ratio of the second gas and the third gas.

[0007] According to this aspect, it is possible to generate a mixed gas containing two types of gases at a desired mixing ratio while removing a specific gas.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a gas manufacturing apparatus comprising: a gas introduction section that introduces a first mixed gas containing a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas; a concentrated mixed gas generation section that generates from the first mixed gas an enriched mixed gas in which the total concentration of the second gas and the third gas is 90% or more and separates the enriched mixed gas from a second exhaust gas containing the first gas; a first gas concentration section that generates a first enriched gas by concentrating the first gas from the second exhaust gas and generates the first enriched gas; and a concentration adjustment section that adds the second gas and / or the third gas to the enriched mixed gas to adjust the mixing ratio of the second gas and the third gas.

[0009] According to this aspect, it is possible to generate a mixed gas containing two types of gases at a desired mixing ratio while removing a specific gas.

[0010] In a preferred aspect, the first gas concentrating section concentrates the first gas by physical adsorption and / or membrane separation.

[0011] In a preferred aspect, the first gas is nitrogen.

[0012] In a preferred aspect, the second gas is carbon dioxide and the third gas is oxygen.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention is a culture system including the gas production apparatus described above and a culture unit that cultures microorganisms using the concentrated mixed gas whose mixing ratio has been adjusted by the concentration adjustment unit.

[0014] According to this aspect, microorganisms can be cultured using concentrated mixed gas adjusted to a desired mixture ratio, so that microorganisms can be cultured efficiently.

[0015] The above aspects may be made dependent on each other, or some of the configurations may be quoted or substituted for each other, as long as they are included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the gas production device of the present invention, it is possible to generate a mixed gas containing two types of gases at a desired mixing ratio while removing a specific gas. According to the culture system of the present invention, it is possible to culture microorganisms using a mixed gas produced in a gas production device with a desired mixture ratio. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a culture system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a culture system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0019] The culture system 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention is for culturing microorganisms such as hydrogen bacteria, and supplies carbon dioxide (second gas), oxygen (third gas), and hydrogen (fourth gas) to the microorganisms. The microorganisms cultured in the culture system 1 are preferably bacteria that accumulate biodegradable plastics within their cells under nitrogen-starved conditions. As shown in FIG. 1, the culture system 1 includes a gas production device 2, an electrolysis device 3, and a culture section 5.

[0020] <Gas manufacturing equipment 2> The gas production device 2 produces a gas used for culturing microorganisms in the culture section 5, and in this embodiment, is capable of supplying the culture section 5 with a culture gas containing at least two types of gases. As shown in Figure 1, the gas manufacturing apparatus 2 includes a gas introduction section 10, an impurity gas separation section 11, a first gas concentration section 12, a concentrated gas recovery section 13, a concentrated mixed gas generation section 15, an adjustment gas supply section 16, and a concentration adjustment section 17.

[0021] (Gas inlet 10) The gas introduction section 10 is a section for introducing a first mixed gas containing at least nitrogen (first gas), carbon dioxide (second gas), and oxygen (third gas) from the outside, and is capable of supplying the first mixed gas to the impurity gas separation section 11. The first mixed gas introduced by the gas introduction unit 10 of this embodiment is a mixed gas having a relatively high concentration of carbon dioxide, such as exhaust gas. That is, the first mixed gas is introduced in a state in which the carbon dioxide concentration in the first mixed gas is 10% or more, and is somewhat higher than that of the atmosphere, etc.

[0022] (Impurity gas separation section 11) The impurity gas separation section 11 is a section that separates and removes impurity gas from the first mixed gas introduced from the gas introduction section 10, and is capable of supplying the first mixed gas from which the impurity gas has been removed to the first gas concentration section 12. The impurity gas preferably contains sulfur oxides and / or nitrogen oxides.

[0023] (First gas concentrator 12) The first gas concentration section 12 is a section that separates a nitrogen-concentrated gas obtained by concentrating nitrogen from the first mixed gas using physical adsorption and / or membrane separation, from a first off-gas (first exhaust gas) containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. The first gas concentrating section 12 is capable of supplying the concentrated nitrogen-concentrated gas to the concentrated gas recovery section 13 and supplying the first off-gas separated from the nitrogen-concentrated gas to the concentrated mixed gas generating section 15. The physical adsorption method is not particularly limited as long as it uses physical adsorption, and for example, pressure swing adsorption (hereinafter also simply referred to as PSA method) or thermal swing adsorption (hereinafter also simply referred to as TSA method) can be used. The separation membrane used in the membrane separation method is not particularly limited as long as it can selectively permeate and concentrate nitrogen from the mixed gas, and for example, a polymer membrane such as polyimide can be used. The first gas concentrating section 12 of this embodiment preferably concentrates nitrogen so that the concentration of nitrogen in the nitrogen-concentrated gas is 90% or more.

[0024] (Concentrated gas recovery section 13) The concentrated gas recovery unit 13 is a section that recovers the nitrogen-concentrated gas concentrated in the first gas concentration unit 12. The nitrogen-concentrated gas recovered in the concentrated gas recovery unit 13 can be used, for example, for oxygen-enriched culture, aquaculture, combustion processes, etc.

[0025] (Concentrated mixed gas generating section 15) The concentrated mixed gas generation section 15 is a section that separates the first off-gas supplied from the first gas concentration section 12 into a concentrated mixed gas containing carbon dioxide and oxygen and in which the carbon dioxide and oxygen are concentrated, and a second off-gas containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen, using physical adsorption and / or membrane separation. The concentrated mixed gas generating unit 15 is capable of supplying the concentrated mixed gas to the concentration adjusting unit 17 and supplying the second off-gas to the impurity gas separating unit 11. The physical adsorption method used in the concentrated mixed gas generating section 15 is not particularly limited as long as it uses physical adsorption, as described above, and for example, the PSA method or the TSA method can be used. The separation membrane used in the membrane separation method of the concentrated mixed gas generation section 15 is not particularly limited as long as it can selectively allow carbon dioxide and oxygen to pass through and be concentrated from the first off-gas, and for example, a polymer membrane such as polyimide can be used. The concentrated mixed gas generating unit 15 of this embodiment concentrates carbon dioxide and oxygen so that the total concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the concentrated mixed gas is 90% or more.

[0026] (Adjustment gas supply unit 16) The adjustment gas supply unit 16 is a part that supplies an adjustment gas that does not contain nitrogen but contains carbon dioxide and / or oxygen to the concentration adjustment unit 17, and is a part that supplies and supplements gas that is insufficient when adjusting the concentration in the concentration adjustment unit 17.

[0027] (Density adjustment section 17) The concentration adjustment unit 17 is a part that mixes the adjustment gas containing carbon dioxide and / or oxygen supplied from the adjustment gas supply unit 16 with the concentrated mixed gas, and supplies the culture gas to the culture unit 5 with the carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration in the concentrated mixed gas adjusted to suit the microorganisms to be cultured in the culture unit 5. In addition, the concentration adjustment unit 17 can relatively reduce the nitrogen concentration of the adjustment gas by mixing the adjustment gas supplied from the adjustment gas supply unit 16 with the concentrated mixed gas, and it is preferable to dilute the nitrogen concentration in the culture gas to 0.2% or less.

[0028] <Electrolyzer 3> The electrolysis device 3 is a hydrogen generation device that generates at least hydrogen from an electrolyte solution such as water using an electrochemical reaction. That is, the electrolysis device 3 has an anode part and a cathode part in an electrolytic cell, and is capable of generating hydrogen on the cathode by applying a voltage between the anode part and the cathode part while the anode part and the cathode part are immersed in the electrolyte solution. The electrolysis device 3 is capable of supplying the hydrogen-containing gas containing the generated hydrogen to the culture section 5 at a predetermined flow rate. The hydrogen concentration in the hydrogen-containing gas is preferably 99% or more and 100% or less.

[0029] <Cultivation Department 5> The culture unit 5 is a section where microorganisms are cultured using the concentrated mixed gas whose carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration have been adjusted by the concentration adjusting unit 17 of the gas production device 2 and the hydrogen-containing gas produced by the electrolysis device 3. Specifically, the culture section 5 is a section for culturing chemoautotrophic bacteria that fix carbon dioxide using the concentrated mixed gas and the hydrogen-containing gas. Examples of chemoautotrophic bacteria that can be used include hydrogen bacteria, methanogens, methane-oxidizing bacteria, nitrate bacteria, nitrite bacteria, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, iron-oxidizing bacteria, and anammox bacteria. In this embodiment, hydrogen bacteria are used as chemoautotrophic bacteria.

[0030] The gas production apparatus 2 of this embodiment includes a gas introduction unit 10 that introduces a first mixed gas containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen, a first gas concentration unit 12 that generates a nitrogen-enriched gas by concentrating nitrogen from the first mixed gas and separates the nitrogen-enriched gas from a first off-gas containing carbon dioxide and oxygen, a concentrated mixed gas generation unit 15 that generates a concentrated mixed gas from the first off-gas in which the total concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen is 90% or more, and a concentration adjustment unit 17 that adds carbon dioxide and / or oxygen to the concentrated mixed gas to adjust the mixture ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Therefore, a concentrated mixed gas in which the mixture ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen is adjusted to a desired ratio while reducing the ratio of nitrogen can be generated.

[0031] According to the gas production apparatus 2 of this embodiment, the first gas concentrating unit 12 concentrates nitrogen by physical adsorption and / or membrane separation. Therefore, high-concentration nitrogen can be recovered in the concentrated gas recovery unit 13, and the nitrogen concentration in the first off-gas can be reduced compared to that in the first mixed gas.

[0032] According to the gas production apparatus 2 of this embodiment, the second gas is carbon dioxide and the third gas is oxygen, which makes it suitable for use in culturing microorganisms.

[0033] According to the gas manufacturing apparatus 2 of this embodiment, the second off-gas separated from the concentrated mixed gas in the concentrated mixed gas generation section 15 is returned to the impurity gas separation section 11, so that the second off-gas can be used again to concentrate nitrogen in the first gas concentration section 12 or to generate concentrated mixed gas in the concentrated mixed gas generation section 15, thereby improving the recovery efficiency of nitrogen-concentrated gas and concentrated mixed gas from the first mixed gas.

[0034] The culture system 1 of this embodiment includes the gas production device 2 and the culture unit 5 that cultures microorganisms using the concentrated mixed gas whose mixing ratio has been adjusted by the concentration adjustment unit 17. Therefore, the microorganisms can be cultured efficiently.

[0035] Next, a culture system 101 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same components as those in the culture system 101 according to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The same applies hereinafter.

[0036] The culture system 101 of the second embodiment of the present invention includes a gas production device 102, an electrolysis device 3, and a culture section 5, as shown in FIG.

[0037] <Gas manufacturing equipment 102> As shown in Figure 2, the gas manufacturing apparatus 102 includes a gas introduction section 10, an impurity gas separation section 11, a concentrated mixed gas generation section 115, a first gas concentration section 112, a concentrated gas recovery section 113, an adjustment gas supply section 16, and a concentration adjustment section 17.

[0038] (Concentrated mixed gas generating unit 115) The concentrated mixed gas generation unit 115, like the concentrated mixed gas generation unit 15 of the first embodiment, is a unit that separates, using physical adsorption and / or membrane separation, a concentrated mixed gas containing carbon dioxide and oxygen and in which the carbon dioxide and oxygen are concentrated, and a third off-gas (second exhaust gas) containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen from the first mixed gas supplied after impurity gases have been removed in the impurity gas separation unit 11. The concentrated mixed gas generator 115 can supply the separated concentrated mixed gas to the concentration adjuster 17 and can supply the separated third off-gas to the first gas concentrator 112.

[0039] (First gas concentration section 112) The first gas concentration section 112, like the first gas concentration section 12 of the first embodiment, is a section that separates a nitrogen-enriched gas obtained by concentrating nitrogen from the third off-gas separated in the concentrated mixed gas generation section 115 using physical adsorption and / or membrane separation, and a fourth off-gas containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. The first gas concentrating section 112 can supply the separated nitrogen-enriched gas to the concentrated gas recovery section 13, and can supply the separated fourth off-gas to the impurity gas separation section 11.

[0040] The gas production apparatus 102 of this embodiment includes a gas introduction unit 10 that introduces a first mixed gas containing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen, a concentrated mixed gas generation unit 115 that generates a concentrated mixed gas having a total concentration of carbon dioxide and oxygen of 90% or more from the first mixed gas and separates the concentrated mixed gas from a third off-gas containing nitrogen, a first gas concentration unit 112 that generates a first concentrated gas by concentrating nitrogen from the third off-gas and generates the first concentrated gas, and a concentration adjustment unit 17 that adds carbon dioxide and / or oxygen to the concentrated mixed gas to adjust the mixture ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Therefore, a concentrated mixed gas can be generated in which the mixture ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen is adjusted to a desired ratio while reducing the ratio of nitrogen.

[0041] According to the gas manufacturing apparatus 102 of this embodiment, the fourth off-gas separated from the nitrogen-enriched gas in the first gas concentration section 112 is returned to the impurity gas separation section 11, so that the fourth off-gas can be used again to generate an enriched mixed gas in the enriched mixed gas generation section 115 or to enrich nitrogen in the first gas concentration section 112, thereby improving the recovery efficiency of the nitrogen-enriched gas or enriched mixed gas from the first mixed gas.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the first gas is nitrogen, the second gas is carbon dioxide, and the third gas is oxygen, but the present invention is not limited to this. The first gas, second gas, and third gas may be any gas.

[0043] In the above-described embodiment, the impurity gas separation section 11 is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. The impurity gas separation section 11 does not have to be provided.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the electrolysis device 3 is used as the hydrogen source used for culturing microorganisms in the culture section 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. Other hydrogen generating devices such as a hydrogen cylinder or a hydrogen generator may also be used.

[0045] In the above-described embodiments, each component can be freely substituted or added between the respective embodiments as long as it falls within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1,101 culture systems 2,102 Gas production equipment 5 Culture Department 10 Gas inlet 12,112 First Gas Concentration Section 13,113 Concentrated Gas Recovery Section 15,115 Concentrated mixed gas generator 17 Density adjustment section

Claims

1. a gas introduction section that introduces a first mixed gas containing a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas; a first gas concentration unit that generates a first concentrated gas by concentrating the first gas from the first mixed gas and separates the first concentrated gas from a first exhaust gas containing the second gas and the third gas; a concentrated mixed gas generating unit that generates a concentrated mixed gas from the first exhaust gas, the concentrated mixed gas having a total concentration of the second gas and the third gas of 90% or more; a concentration adjusting unit that adjusts the mixing ratio of the second gas and the third gas by adding the second gas and / or the third gas to the concentrated mixed gas;

2. a gas introduction section that introduces a first mixed gas containing a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas; a concentrated mixed gas generating unit that generates a concentrated mixed gas from the first mixed gas, the concentrated mixed gas having a total concentration of the second gas and the third gas of 90% or more, and separates the concentrated mixed gas from a second exhaust gas containing the first gas; a first gas concentration unit that generates a first concentrated gas by concentrating the first gas from the second exhaust gas; a concentration adjusting unit that adjusts the mixing ratio of the second gas and the third gas by adding the second gas and / or the third gas to the concentrated mixed gas;

3. The gas production apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first gas concentrating section concentrates the first gas by physical adsorption and / or membrane separation.

4. The gas production device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first gas is nitrogen.

5. the second gas is carbon dioxide; The gas production device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the third gas is oxygen.

6. The gas production apparatus according to claim 5; a culture unit that cultures microorganisms using the concentrated mixed gas whose mixing ratio has been adjusted by the concentration adjustment unit.

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