Underwater solid matter separation and recovery device

Abstract

A solids separation and recovery device for water that can reduce processing costs by lowering power consumption, increase the concentration rate without reducing the concentration ratio, and sufficiently remove culture impurities. [Solution] The filter cloth tube 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape, a supply unit 30 is provided to supply culture medium M from the top of the filter cloth tube 20, a culture medium spray unit 40 is provided inside the filter cloth tube 20 and sprays the culture medium M supplied from the supply unit 30 radially outward by rotating it at high speed around the cylindrical axis O of the filter cloth tube 20, and a recovery unit 60 is provided at the lower end 20c of the filter cloth tube 20 and recovers the cells m filtered onto the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth tube 20. The filter cloth tube 20 allows only the water w in the culture medium M sprayed from the culture medium spray unit 40 to pass through, and filters the cells m in the culture medium M by separating them from the water w and leaving them on the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth tube 20.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for separating and recovering solid substances in water.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, microalgae cells recovered from a culture solution that is an algae-water mixture are expected to be used as health foods or as energy (fuel). As a method for recovering such microalgae cells, a method using a centrifugal separator is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional method of using a centrifugal separator to separate a culture solution into water and microalgae cells and recovering only the cells, there is a problem that the power consumption for driving the centrifugal separator is large. Moreover, in the recovery method using a centrifugal separator, there is a problem that the processing efficiency is poor because the process takes time.

[0005] Therefore, in order to at least suppress power consumption, a method of recovering cells by natural filtration has been proposed, but the filtration surface is quickly clogged by the adhering cells. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to process cells in a large-capacity culture solution, and there is a need for a device that can perform high-speed processing, and there is room for improvement in this regard. Moreover, in the case of the conventional separation method using a centrifugal separator or the processing method using natural filtration, there is also a problem that the culture impurities contained in the culture solution cannot be sufficiently removed.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a solids separation and recovery device for water that can reduce processing costs by suppressing power consumption, increase the concentration rate without reducing the concentration ratio, and further sufficiently remove culture impurities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is an aquatic solids separation and recovery device for separating and recovering cells contained in aquatic solids in a culture medium from water, comprising: a cylindrical filter cloth cylinder; a supply unit for supplying the culture medium from the upper part of the filter cloth cylinder; a culture medium spray unit disposed inside the filter cloth cylinder and for injecting the culture medium supplied from the supply unit radially outward by rotating at high speed around the cylindrical axis of the filter cloth cylinder; and a recovery unit disposed at the lower end of the filter cloth cylinder for recovering the filtered cells on the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder, wherein the filter cloth cylinder allows only the water in the culture medium sprayed from the culture medium spray unit to pass through, leaving the cells in the culture medium on the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder and separating them from the water for filtration, thus providing an aquatic solids separation and recovery device.

[0008] According to the underwater solid separation and recovery apparatus of the present invention, by injecting the culture medium from the culture medium injection unit while rotating it around the cylindrical axis, the injected culture medium is forcefully struck against the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder. As a result, only the water in the culture medium passes through the filter cloth cylinder without clogging the filter cloth, and the cells in the culture medium are separated from the water and filtered, leaving them on the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder. In particular, by rotating the culture medium injection unit around the cylindrical axis, the cells can be filtered using the entire circumferential surface area of ​​the filter cloth cylinder, thus suppressing clogging of the filter cloth and enabling continuous filtration, thereby improving processing efficiency. Therefore, repeated separation operations, as in the case of conventional batch-type centrifuges, are unnecessary, and processing time can be shortened. For example, the processing time can be shortened to about 1 / 10 compared to the centrifugation method using a batch-type centrifuge. Furthermore, in the present invention, since repeated separation operations are unnecessary, power consumption can be reduced, and processing costs can be reduced compared to methods using centrifuges, which have particularly high energy consumption. In other words, in the present invention, the concentration rate can be increased without reducing the concentration ratio of the cells separated from the culture medium. Furthermore, in this invention, since the cells filtered by the culture medium spraying section can fall by their own weight down the filter cloth cylinder along the inner surface and be collected in the collection section, a drive device for collection is not required, and energy consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, according to the present invention, culture impurities that can pass through a predetermined mesh opening set in the filter cloth cylinder are passed through together with water in the culture medium sprayed by the culture medium spray unit, thereby separating and removing culture impurities from filtered cells. As a result, cells with fewer culture impurities can be recovered from the culture medium.

[0009] Furthermore, it is preferable that the lower part of the filter cloth cylinder is equipped with a water injection unit that sprays water radially outward at a position below the culture medium injection unit.

[0010] According to the present invention, water sprayed radially outward from a water injection unit located at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder allows for the removal of culture impurities from cells that have accumulated on the inner surface of the lower part of the filter cloth cylinder, by passing them through the filter cloth cylinder along with the water. Therefore, in addition to the separation of culture impurities by the culture medium injection unit, the separation of culture impurities by the water injection unit can also be performed, making it possible to recover cells with fewer culture impurities. Furthermore, the present invention can suppress clogging at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder where filtered cells tend to accumulate. In addition, the present invention can efficiently wash the cells that accumulate at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder. Thus, in the present invention, the water injection unit is integrally provided with the filter cloth cylinder, allowing the clogging suppression operation and the cleaning operation of the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder to be performed simultaneously. This eliminates the need to perform these operations in separate processes as in the conventional method, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0011] Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the filter cloth cylinder has a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downwards.

[0012] According to the present invention, since the cells filtered along the inner surface of the cone-shaped filter cloth cylinder flow down naturally, the cells can be easily collected in the collection section at the bottom.

[0013] Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the culture medium spraying unit is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction within the filter cloth cylinder.

[0014] According to the present invention, by moving the culture medium spraying unit vertically, cells can be filtered using a wide area in the vertical direction of the filter cloth cylinder, thereby suppressing clogging of the filter cloth and improving processing efficiency.

[0015] In addition, the present invention includes a culture vessel for culturing the culture solution, a connection pipe connecting the culture vessel and the supply unit, and a pressure pump provided in the connection pipe. The culture solution is pumped through the supply unit to the culture solution injection unit by the pressure of the pressure pump, and the culture solution injection unit is preferably a sprinkler that rotates at high speed using the water pressure of the culture solution as a driving force.

[0016] According to the present invention, the water pressure of the culture solution pumped by the pressure of the pressure pump is used as a driving force to rotate the culture solution injection unit composed of a sprinkler at high speed around the cylinder axis and eject it. Therefore, since no electric power is required to drive the culture solution injection unit and the pressure pump becomes the main power consumption, the cost associated with the power consumption can be suppressed.

[0017] In addition, the present invention preferably includes a water tank for collecting the water separated by the filter cloth cylinder around the filter cloth cylinder.

[0018] According to the present invention, since the water in the culture solution ejected by the culture solution injection unit and passing through the filter cloth cylinder is stored in the water tank, the water in the water tank can be easily recovered.

[0019] In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the solid matter in water is microalgae. [[ID=_{17}]]

[0020] According to the present invention, in the filter cloth cylinder, the culture solution is ejected by the culture solution injection unit, and the cells of the microalgae can be separated from the water by filtration and recovered.

Effects of the Invention

[0021] According to the apparatus for separating and recovering solid matter in water according to the present invention, the concentration rate can be increased without reducing the concentration ratio, and further, culture impurities can be sufficiently removed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the apparatus for separating and recovering suspended matter in water according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a top - view plan view of the filtration device of the separation and recovery device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It shows the filtration state by cell separation of the culture solution in the embodiment, (a) is a photograph before cell separation, and (b) is a photograph after cell separation. [Figure 4] It shows the filtration state by cell separation of other culture solutions in the embodiment, (a) is a photograph before cell separation, and (b) is a photograph after cell separation.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a separation and recovery device for underwater solids according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in such an embodiment are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a separation and recovery device 1 for underwater floating substances in an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top - view plan view of the filtration device 10 of the separation and recovery device 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the separation and recovery device 1 of the present embodiment is a device for separating and recovering cells m contained in underwater floating substances (underwater solids) in the culture solution M from water w.

[0025] Here, the underwater solids in the culture solution M include cells m and culture impurities. The culture impurities include those of a size that pass through the mesh size of the filter cloth cylinder 20 described later and are removed (culture impurities with a size smaller than the mesh size) and those of a size that do not pass through the filter cloth cylinder 20 (culture impurities with a size larger than the mesh size).

[0026] In this embodiment, the culture medium M contains microalgae cells. That is, cell m is a microalgae cell. The culture medium M is created by adding cells to water containing fertilizer and allowing the cells to multiply through cell division, thereby culturing the algae cells. Once the culture medium M is sufficiently cultured, the cells m are filtered out by separating them from the water w using a filtration device 10, which will be described later. In other words, the separation and recovery device 1 separates and recovers the algae, which are cell m, from the culture medium M.

[0027] The separation and recovery device 1 comprises a filtration device 10, a culture vessel 11, connecting piping 12, and a pressure pump 13. The filtration device 10 comprises a filter cloth cylinder 20, a supply unit 30, a culture medium injection unit 40, a water injection unit 50, a recovery unit 60, and a water tank 70.

[0028] The culture vessel 11 is a vertically oriented tank used to cultivate microalgae by a separately provided culture device (not shown). The culture medium M in the culture vessel 11 is supplied to the filtration device 10. Although only one culture vessel 11 is shown in Figure 1, multiple culture vessels 11 may be provided. When the culture medium M has been sufficiently cultured in the culture vessel 11, for example, about 90% of the culture medium M in the culture vessel 11 is supplied to the filtration device 10 to filter and recover the cells m. Alternatively, the remaining 10% of the culture medium M in the culture vessel 11 can be supplied with water containing fertilizer, and cultivation can be repeated.

[0029] The connecting pipe 12 connects the culture vessel 11 to the supply unit 30 of the filtration device 10, and supplies the culture medium M from the culture vessel 11 to the supply unit 30. The downstream end 12b of the connecting pipe 12 is located at the center of the upper end 20b of the filter cloth cylinder 20 when viewed from above, and is connected to the supply unit 30.

[0030] The pressure pump 13 is installed in the connecting pipe 12. The pressure pump 13 pumps the culture medium M in the culture vessel 11 towards the supply unit 30 of the filtration device 10 at a predetermined water pressure. The flow rate of the pressure pump 13 is, for example, 10 liters / minute.

[0031] The filter cloth cylinder 20 is formed from a cylindrical filter cloth. The mesh size of the filter cloth is set to be smaller than the size of the clumps of culture medium M supplied. For example, if the microalgae cells in the culture medium M are 30 μm, a filter cloth with a mesh size smaller than 30 μm is used. The filter cloth cylinder 20 is positioned with its cylindrical axis O in a roughly vertical direction. The filter cloth cylinder 20 has a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downwards. The angle of the cone of the filter cloth cylinder 20 is preferably, for example, less than 45° with respect to the cylindrical axis O.

[0032] The filter cloth cylinder 20 allows only the water w (containing culture impurities) in the culture medium M sprayed from the culture medium spray unit 40 to pass through, separating the cells m in the culture medium M from the water w and filtering them away from the cells m remaining on the inner surface (filtration surface 20a) of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The cells m filtered by the filtration surface 20a flow downward along the cone-shaped filtration surface 20a (towards the lower end 20c of the filter cloth cylinder 20). The water w that has passed through the filter cloth cylinder 20 is ejected to the outside of the filter cloth cylinder 20 and collected in the water tank 70.

[0033] The filter cloth cylinder 20 has an opening at its upper end 20b, and the supply unit 30 is inserted into the filter cloth cylinder 20 from above. The filter cloth cylinder 20 has grooves (not shown) that extend substantially vertically along the filter surface 20a. In this case, cells m filtered on the filter surface 20a are more likely to flow downward along the grooves. Multiple grooves may be arranged intermittently or continuously at predetermined intervals around the circumferential direction of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The grooves are formed over the entire length of the filter cloth cylinder 20, from the upper end 20b to the lower end 20c.

[0034] The supply unit 30 supplies the culture medium M from the top of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The supply unit 30 has a supply pipe 31 connected to the downstream end 12b of the connecting pipe 12. As shown in Figure 2, the supply pipe 31 is positioned with its axis coaxial with the cylinder axis O. That is, the supply pipe 31 is positioned at the center of the filter cloth cylinder 20 when viewed from above. A culture medium spray unit 40 is attached to the lower end of the supply pipe 31.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the culture medium spraying unit 40 is positioned inside the filter cloth cylinder 20 and sprays the culture medium M supplied from the supply unit 30 radially outward by rotating it at high speed around the cylindrical axis O of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The culture medium spraying unit 40 employs a sprinkler that rotates at high speed using the water pressure of the culture medium M as the driving force.

[0036] The culture medium spray unit 40 comprises a spray body 41 and a plurality (three in this case) of spray nozzles 42 that protrude radially outward from the side surface of the spray body 41. The spray body 41 is hollow and disc-shaped, and is coaxially connected to the lower end 31a (see Figure 1) of the supply pipe 31 so as to be rotatable around the cylindrical axis O. The hollow portion of the spray body 41 is in communication with the supply pipe 31. The spray body 41 is configured to rotate around the supply pipe 31 (in the direction of arrow E) when the culture medium M is supplied to the hollow portion from the supply pipe 31, using the water pressure of the culture medium M as a rotational driving force. Here, the culture medium M sprayed from the spray nozzle 42 is set to an appropriate water pressure so that only the water w of the culture medium M sprayed through the filter cloth of the filter cloth cylinder 20 can pass through, and the cells m can be filtered at the filter surface 20a.

[0037] The three spray nozzles 42 are arranged to extend radially from the spray body 41. The three spray nozzles 42 communicate with the hollow part of the spray body 41 and spray the culture medium M supplied to the hollow part from the spray opening 42a.

[0038] In this manner, the culture medium spraying unit 40 sprays the culture medium M at a predetermined flow velocity while the three spray nozzles 42 rotate around the cylindrical axis O due to the water pressure of the culture medium M supplied to the hollow part of the spraying body 41. That is, the entire circumferential region at the same height position on the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20 becomes the sprayed area by the three spray nozzles 42. The sprayed area is the region that is struck by the culture medium M sprayed from the spray nozzles 42.

[0039] The culture medium spraying unit 40 is provided to be movable vertically within the filter cloth cylinder 20. The means for moving the culture medium spraying unit 40 vertically may be, for example, a mechanism in which the supply unit 30 and the culture medium spraying unit 40 move together, or a mechanism in which the supply unit 30 extends and retracts. For example, if the area to be sprayed on the upper filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20 becomes clogged, the culture medium spraying unit 40 is moved downward.

[0040] As an example of the culture solution spraying unit 40, for instance, a sprinkler head for watering garden trees, such as the "3-arm sprinkler head, XGZ0017" (manufactured by Takagi Corporation), can be used.

[0041] The water tank 70 is positioned around the filter cloth cylinder 20 and collects the water w separated by the filter cloth cylinder 20. The water tank 70 has a rectangular cross-section and is a bottomed cylindrical shape that encloses the entire filter cloth cylinder 20. The shape of the water tank 70 can be any shape as long as it encloses the filter cloth cylinder 20. Water w ejected from the filter cloth cylinder 20 flows into and is contained between the water tank 70 and the filter cloth cylinder 20. A drainage section (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the water tank 70, and the water w contained in the water tank 70 is drained from the drainage section.

[0042] As shown in Figure 1, the water injection unit 50 is located at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20 and rotates at high speed around the cylindrical axis O at a position below the culture medium injection unit 40, spraying water W (different from the water w separated in the culture medium M) radially outward to filter cells m adhering to the filtration surface 20a (inner surface) of the filter cloth cylinder 20, and also has the function of washing the filtration surface 20a.

[0043] The water injection unit 50 sprays water W radially and is smaller in shape than the culture medium injection unit 40. The water injection unit 50 may be a sprinkler similar to the culture medium injection unit 40, which rotates at high speed using water pressure as the driving force. The water injection unit 50 has an injection body 51 and a plurality (three in this case) of injection nozzles 52 that protrude radially outward from the side of the injection body 51. The injection body 51 is hollow and formed in a disc shape, and is coaxial with the cylindrical axis O and rotatably connected to the lower end 53a of the water pipe 53 around the cylindrical axis O. The hollow part of the injection body 51 is in communication with the water pipe 53. The injection body 51 is configured to rotate around the water pipe 53 using the water pressure from the water W supplied to the hollow part of the water pipe 53 as the rotational driving force. Here, the water W sprayed from the spray nozzle 52 is set to an appropriate water pressure that is sufficient to wash away the cells m attached to the filtration surface 20a, which is located in a substantially horizontal direction.

[0044] The three injection nozzles 52 are arranged to extend radially from the injection body 51. The three injection nozzles 52 communicate with the hollow part of the injection body 51 and inject the water W supplied to the hollow part from the injection port 52a.

[0045] In this manner, the water injection unit 50 uses the water pressure of the water W supplied to the hollow part of the injection body 51 to cause the three injection nozzles 52 to rotate around the cylindrical axis O, injecting water W at a predetermined flow velocity. That is, the entire circumferential region at the same height position on the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20 becomes the area to be injected by the three injection nozzles 52. The area to be injected is the region to which the water W injected from the injection nozzles 52 strikes. The water injection unit 50 may be fixed in place without rotating around the cylindrical shaft O. Furthermore, the water injection unit 50 may be provided so as to be movable vertically within the filter cloth cylinder 20.

[0046] As shown in Figure 1, the recovery unit 60 is positioned at the lower end 20c of the filter cloth cylinder 20 and recovers the cells m filtered onto the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The recovery unit 60 includes a discharge pipe 61 and an on / off valve 62. The discharge pipe 61 is connected to the lower end 20c of the filter cloth cylinder 20. The downstream side of the discharge pipe 61 is connected to, for example, a recovery tank (not shown). The discharge pipe 61 discharges and recovers the cells m flowing down along the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20. Note that the contents flowing into the discharge pipe 61 include not only the cells m filtered by the spray of the culture medium spray unit 40, but also some of the water W sprayed by the water spray unit 50 and cells m washed by the water spray unit 50.

[0047] The on / off valve 62 is provided on the discharge pipe 61 and opens and closes the discharge pipe 61. For example, by keeping the on / off valve 62 closed, the valve can be opened when a certain amount of cells m have accumulated at the bottom 20d of the filter cloth cylinder 20, and that predetermined amount of cells m can be collected. Alternatively, by keeping the on / off valve 62 open at all times, cells m can be collected continuously.

[0048] Here, any culture impurities in the culture medium M, such as algae or zooplankton that have become mixed in with the algae intended for cultivation, are discharged to the outside of the filter cloth cylinder 20 along with the water w sprayed by the culture medium spray unit 40. In other words, a large portion of the culture impurities contained in the cells m filtered by the filter cloth cylinder 20 can be removed.

[0049] Next, the operation of the underwater suspended solids separation and recovery device 1 will be explained in detail based on Figures 1 and 2. The aquatic suspended matter separation and recovery device 1 according to this embodiment separates and recovers cells m contained in aquatic suspended matter in a culture medium M from water w. The aquatic suspended matter separation and recovery device 1 comprises a cylindrical filter cloth tube 20, a supply unit 30 that supplies culture medium M from the top of the filter cloth tube 20, a culture medium spray unit 40 positioned inside the filter cloth tube 20 that rapidly rotates the culture medium M supplied from the supply unit 30 around the cylindrical axis O of the filter cloth tube 20 and sprays it radially outward, and a recovery unit 60 positioned at the lower end 20c of the filter cloth tube 20 that recovers the cells m filtered onto the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth tube 20. The filter cloth tube 20 allows only the water w in the culture medium M sprayed from the culture medium spray unit 40 to pass through, leaving the cells m in the culture medium M on the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth tube 20 and filtering them away from the water w.

[0050] Thus, in this embodiment, by spraying the culture medium M from the culture medium spraying unit 40 while rotating it around the cylindrical axis O, the sprayed culture medium M is forcefully struck against the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20. As a result, the filter cloth is not clogged, and only the water w in the culture medium M passes through the filter cloth cylinder 20, leaving the cells m in the culture medium M on the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20, separating them from the water w for filtration. In particular, by rotating the culture medium spraying unit 40 around the cylindrical axis O, the cells m can be filtered using the entire circumferential surface area of ​​the filter cloth cylinder 20, thereby suppressing clogging of the filter cloth and enabling continuous filtration, thus improving processing efficiency. Therefore, repeated separation operations, as required when using a conventional batch-type centrifuge, are unnecessary, and processing time can be shortened. For example, processing time can be reduced to about 1 / 10 of that of a centrifuge method using a batch-type centrifuge. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since repeated separation operations are unnecessary, power consumption can be reduced, and processing costs can be reduced compared to methods using centrifuges, which have particularly high energy consumption. In other words, in this embodiment, the concentration rate can be increased without reducing the concentration ratio of cells m separated from the culture medium M. In addition, in this embodiment, cells filtered by the culture medium spraying unit 40 can fall by their own weight down the filter cloth cylinder 20 along the inner surface and be collected in the collection unit 60, so a drive device for collection is unnecessary, and energy consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, culture impurities that can pass through a predetermined mesh opening set in the filter cloth cylinder 20 are passed through together with the water in the culture medium M sprayed by the culture medium spray unit 40, thereby separating and removing culture impurities from the filtered cells m. As a result, cells m with fewer culture impurities can be recovered from the culture medium M.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower part of the filter cloth cylinder 20 is provided with a water spray unit 50 that sprays water W radially outward at a position below the culture medium spray unit 40 to clean the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20. Therefore, the water W sprayed radially outward from the water injection unit 50 located at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20 allows the culture impurities in the cells m that accumulate on the inner surface of the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20 to pass through the filter cloth cylinder 20 together with the water W, thereby separating and removing them from the cells m. As a result, in addition to the separation of culture impurities by the culture medium injection unit 40, the separation of culture impurities by the water injection unit 50 can be performed, making it possible to recover cells with fewer culture impurities. Furthermore, in this embodiment, clogging at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20, where filtered cells m tend to accumulate, can be suppressed. In addition, in this embodiment, cells m accumulated at the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20 can be efficiently washed. Thus, in this embodiment, the water injection unit 50 is integrally provided with the filter cloth cylinder 20, allowing the clogging suppression operation and the washing operation of the bottom of the filter cloth cylinder 20 to be performed simultaneously, eliminating the need to perform these operations in separate processes as in the conventional method, and improving work efficiency.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the filter cloth cylinder 20 has a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downwards. Therefore, the cells m filtered along the filtration surface 20a of the cone-shaped filter cloth cylinder 20 tend to flow down naturally, making it easy to collect the cells m in the lower collection section 60.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20 may have grooves (not shown) that extend vertically along the cylindrical axis O. In this case, the filtered cells m tend to flow down naturally along the grooves formed on the filtration surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20, making it easy to collect the cells m in the lower collection section 60.

[0054] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the culture medium spraying unit 40 is provided so as to be movable vertically within the filter cloth cylinder 20. Therefore, by moving the culture medium spray unit 40 vertically, cells m can be filtered using a wide area in the vertical direction of the filter cloth cylinder 20, thereby suppressing clogging of the filter cloth and improving processing efficiency.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the system includes a culture container 11 for culturing the culture medium M, a connecting pipe 12 connecting the culture container 11 and the supply unit 30, and a pressure pump 13 provided on the connecting pipe 12. The pressure of the pressure pump 13 sends the culture medium M to the culture medium spray unit 40 via the supply unit 30. The culture medium spray unit 40 is a sprinkler that rotates at high speed using the water pressure of the culture medium M as its driving force. Therefore, the water pressure of the culture medium M, which is supplied by the pressure of the pressure pump 13, is used to drive the culture medium spraying unit 40, which consists of a sprinkler, to rotate at high speed around the cylindrical shaft O and spray the culture medium. As a result, no power is required to drive the culture medium spraying unit 40, and the pressure pump 13 is the main power source, thus reducing the cost of electricity used.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a water tank 70 is provided around the filter cloth cylinder 20 to collect the water w separated by the filter cloth cylinder 20. Therefore, the water w in the culture medium M that is sprayed by the culture medium spraying unit 40 and passes through the filter cloth cylinder 20 is accumulated in the water tank 70, making it easy to recover the water w in the water tank 70.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the solid matter in the water is microalgae. Therefore, the culture medium M can be sprayed from the culture medium spraying unit 40 inside the filter cloth cylinder 20, allowing the microalgae cells m to be separated from the water w by filtration and recovered.

[0058] Next, an example of an embodiment used to support the underwater solid separation and recovery device described above will be explained below.

[0059] (Examples) In this example, a test apparatus similar to the underwater suspended matter separation and recovery apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment was created, and the effectiveness of the test apparatus was confirmed by observing and comparing photographs taken with a microscope of the culture medium before and after cell separation.

[0060] Figure 3 shows the filtration state of the culture medium by cell separation in the example, where (a) is a photograph before cell separation and (b) is a photograph after cell separation. Figure 4 shows the filtration state of another culture medium by cell separation in the example, where (a) is a photograph before cell separation and (b) is a photograph after cell separation. In Figures 3(a) and (b) and Figures 4(a) and (b), the symbols P, which appear as relatively large clumps to the naked eye, represent clumps of cells contained in the culture medium. On the other hand, the symbols Q, which appear as extremely small dots compared to the clumps of cells P to the naked eye, represent prasinoalgae (culture impurities) contained in the culture medium.

[0061] The example of the culture medium shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) is a case where the amount of culture medium before collection (before cell separation) was approximately 55 liters, and the amount of culture medium after collection (after cell separation) after processing for a collection time (processing time) of 7 minutes and 30 seconds was approximately 3.5 liters. The mesh size of the filter cloth in the filter cloth cylinder is 30 μm. In this case, no additional washing (washing with the water injection unit 50 of the above embodiment) was performed.

[0062] As shown in Figures 3(a) and (b), comparing the amount of cell P before and after cell separation, it can be confirmed that the amount of cell P after cell separation has increased by approximately 15 times, indicating that it can be recovered after being concentrated by approximately 15 times. The processing capacity for separation and recovery at this time is approximately 7 liters / minute. Furthermore, before cell separation, 20 to 30 culture impurities Q were detected in one field of view (image area) as shown in Figure 3(a). In contrast, after cell separation, 1 to 2 culture impurities Q were detected in one field of view (image area) as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0063] In the other example of culture medium shown in Figures 4(a) and (b), the amount of culture medium before collection (before cell separation) was approximately 30 liters, and after a collection time (processing time) of 3 minutes and 30 seconds and an additional 2 minutes of washing (washing with the water spray unit 50 of the above embodiment), the amount of culture medium after collection (after cell separation) was approximately 0.6 liters. The mesh size of the filter cloth in the filter cloth cylinder is 30 μm.

[0064] As shown in Figures 4(a) and (b), comparing the amount of cell P before and after cell separation, it can be confirmed that the amount of cell P after cell separation has increased by approximately 50 times, indicating that it can be concentrated and recovered by approximately 50 times. The processing capacity for separation and recovery at this time is approximately 8.5 liters / minute. Furthermore, before cell separation, 80 to 100 culture impurities Q were detected in one field of view (image area) as shown in Figure 4(a). In contrast, after cell separation, 1 to 2 culture impurities Q were detected in one field of view (image area) as shown in Figure 4(b).

[0065] As described above, in this example, it was confirmed that by spraying the culture medium with a culture medium spraying unit that rotates at high speed, such as a sprinkler, and filtering the cells P through a filter cloth tube, the concentration ratio was increased by 20 to 50 times compared to before cell separation. Furthermore, the processing time was reduced to at least 1 / 10 of the time required when filtering with a conventional centrifuge, for example. In other words, it was confirmed that the method according to this example can achieve at least 10 times the processing capacity compared to the conventional method using a centrifuge. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the culture impurities Q contained in the culture medium could be reduced to about 1 / 10 to 1 / 100 of their original level. In particular, it was found that adding washing and removal using a water jet unit allowed for more reliable removal of culture impurities Q.

[0066] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents.

[0067] For example, in this embodiment, a water injection unit 50 is provided in the lower part of the filter cloth cylinder 20, below the culture medium injection unit 40, which rotates at high speed around the cylindrical axis O to spray water W radially outward to clean the filter surface 20a of the filter cloth cylinder 20. However, such a water injection unit 50 may be omitted. Furthermore, the water injection unit 50 is not limited to a sprinkler, and other injection devices can be used. Also, the water injection unit 50 is not limited to a configuration that rotates at high speed around the cylindrical axis O, and may be a non-rotatable water injection unit.

[0068] Furthermore, the configuration of the culture medium spraying unit 40 is not limited to a sprinkler as in the embodiment described above, and it is also possible to use a spraying device with a different configuration.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the filter cloth cylinder 20 is a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downwards, but it is not limited to such a conical shape, and other cylindrical shapes may be used. For example, it may be a cylindrical shape with the same circular cross-section or polygonal cross-section at any position along the cylindrical axis O.

[0070] Furthermore, the filter cloth cylinder 20 is not limited to having grooves extending vertically along the cylindrical axis O on its inner surface.

[0071] Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to the culture medium spraying unit 40 being able to move vertically within the filter cloth cylinder 20; it may also be configured in a way that its vertical movement is fixed.

[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a water tank 70 is provided around the filter cloth cylinder 20 to collect the water w separated by the filter cloth cylinder 20, but a configuration without the water tank 70 is also possible.

[0073] Furthermore, while the separation and recovery device 1 of this embodiment targets microalgae as the aquatic solids to be separated, it may also target other materials that are effective not only for the recovery of microalgae cells, but also for the separation of filterable solids such as glass beads. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0074] 1 Separation and recovery device, 10 Filtration device, 11 Culture vessel, 12 Connecting piping, 13 Pressure pump, 20 Filter cloth cylinder, 20a Filtration surface (inner surface), 20b Upper end, 20c Lower end, 30 Supply unit, 31 Supply piping, 40 Culture medium injection unit, 41 Injection body, 42 Injection nozzle, 50 Water injection unit, 51 Injection body, 52 Injection nozzle, 60 Recovery unit, 61 Discharge pipe, 62 On / off valve, 70 Water tank, O Cylinder shaft, M Culture medium, m Cells, w Water, W Water

Claims

1. A device for separating and recovering solid matter in water, which separates cells contained in solid matter in a culture medium from water and recovers them, A filter cloth cylinder formed in a cylindrical shape, A supply unit that supplies the culture solution from the upper part of the filter cloth cylinder, A culture medium spraying unit is positioned inside the filter cloth cylinder and rotates the culture medium supplied from the supply unit at high speed around the cylindrical axis of the filter cloth cylinder to spray it radially outward. The filter cloth cylinder is positioned at the lower end and includes a collection unit for collecting filtered cells on the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder, The filter cloth cylinder allows only the water in the culture medium sprayed from the culture medium spraying unit to pass through, while the cells in the culture medium remain on the inner surface of the filter cloth cylinder, separating them from the water and filtering them out. This is a device for separating and recovering solid matter in water.

2. The underwater solids separation and recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower part of the filter cloth cylinder is provided with a water injection unit that sprays water radially outward at a position below the culture medium injection unit.

3. The filter cloth cylinder has a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downwards, the underwater solid separation and recovery device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The apparatus for separating and recovering solid matter in water according to claim 1, wherein the culture medium spraying unit is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction within the filter cloth cylinder.

5. A culture vessel for culturing the culture medium, A connecting pipe that connects the culture vessel and the supply unit, The system includes a pressure pump provided in the aforementioned connecting pipe, The pressure of the pump is used to deliver the culture medium to the culture medium injection unit via the supply unit. The underwater solid separation and recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the culture medium spraying unit is a sprinkler that rotates at high speed using the water pressure of the culture medium as the driving force.

6. The underwater solids separation and recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter cloth cylinder is surrounded by a water tank for recovering the water separated by the filter cloth cylinder.

7. The aquatic solids separation and recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aquatic solids are microalgae.

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