958 results about "Photobioreactor" patented technology

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to photobioreactor apparatus (100) designed to contain a liquid medium (108) comprising at least one species of photosynthetic organism therein, and to methods of using the photobioreactor apparatus (100) as part of a gas-treatment process and system able to at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a gas stream (608). In certain embodiments, the disclosed photobioreactor apparatus (100 can be utilized as part of an integrated combustion method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms utilized within the photobioreactor (100) at least partially remove certain pollutant compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g. CO₂ and/or NO_X, and are subsequently harvested from the photobioreactor (100), processed, and utilized as a fuel source for a combustion device (e.g. an electric power plant generator and/or incinerator).

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to photobioreactor apparatus designed to contain a liquid medium comprising at least one species of photosynthetic organisms therein, and to methods of using the photobioreactor apparatus as part of a production process for forming an organic molecule-containing product, such as a polymeric material and/or fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel), from biomass produced in the photobioreactor apparatus. In certain embodiments, the disclosed organic molecule/polymer production systems and methods, photobioreactor apparatus, methods of using such apparatus, and/or gas treatment systems and methods provided herein can be utilized as part of an integrated combustion and polymer and/or fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel) production method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms utilized within the photobioreactor are used to at least partially remove certain pollutant compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g. CO₂ and/or NO_x, and are subsequently harvested from the photobioreactor, processed, and utilized as a source for generating polymers and/or organic molecule-containing products (e.g. fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel)) and/or as a fuel source for a combustion device (e.g. an electric power plant generator and/or incinerator).

Certain embodiments of the invention involve methods and systems for preselecting, adapting, and preconditioning one or more species of photosynthetic organisms, such as algae, to specific environmental and/ or operating conditions to which the photosynthetic organisms will subsequently be exposed during utilization in a photobioreactor apparatus of a gas treatment system. Also disclosed are new algal strains and cultures that can be produced by practicing the preselection, adaption, and preconditioning methods.

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to a photobioreactor including photobioreactor units through which a liquid medium stream and a gas stream flow. The photobioreactor units are floated on a body of water such as a pond or a lake. The liquid medium comprises at least one species of phototrophic organism therein. Certain methods of using the photobioreactor system as part of fuel generation system and/or a gas-treatment process or system at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a gas stream. In certain embodiments, the photobioreactor units are formed of flexible, deformable material and are configured to provide a substantially constant thickness of liquid medium. In certain embodiments, a barrier between the photobioreactor unit and the body of water upon which the unit is floated facilitates thermal communication between the liquid medium and the body of water.

A photobioreactor includes a cultivation zone configured to contain a liquid culture medium and facilitate growth of a microalgae biomass, a plurality of parallel edge-lit light transmitting devices mounted within the cultivation zone, and a collection zone oriented in relation to the cultivation zone such that at least a portion of the liquid culture medium and microalgae from the cultivation zone may be periodically harvested. Methods for illuminating algae, for dissolving materials into an algae medium, for extracting oil from algae, and for producing biodiesel from algal oil are also provided.

The present invention provides novel photobioreactors, modules thereof, and methods for use in culturing and harvesting algae and cyanobacteria.

A system and methods for enhancing mass production of algae, diatoms or other photosynthetic organism is described. The system and methods are useful in applications such as energy production, fuels, foods, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and CO₂ fixation. The system and methods involve the use of a submersed rotating pole(s) on which lights are branched out at strategic intervals in order to appropriately increase contact between photosynthetic water-based organisms and light. Rotation can timed so as to disperse light and/or nutrients when the organism is in a receiving mode. A process flow system is also described which can be scaled for the mass production of photosynthetic based organism. This process system makes use of centralized automatable controls and linear or parallel growth tanks. The system can be used for continuous or batch methods of production of bio-mass whose values such as lipids or carbohydrate can be extracted for the production of fuels or other byproducts.

A device and method for carbon dioxide sequestering involving the use of a photo-bioreactor with Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) for the cost-effective photo-fixation of carbon dioxide (CO₂). This device and method is useful for removing undesirable carbon dioxide from waste streams.

An invention proposes a construction of a photobioreactor, which is based on application of parallel sets of multi-level troughs intended for flowing a microalgae suspension, these troughs are irradiated therewith by the sun light. The troughs are arranged in each set one above the other horizontally or with a small inclination to the horizontal plane. The width of the gaps between the neighboring sets of the troughs is significantly larger than the width of the troughs themselves; at the same time, the sum of the widths of each troughs' set is significantly higher (up to several times) than the width of the above-mentioned gap. Optical elements, which reflect and disperse the light, are positioned between the neighboring sets of the troughs. In addition, multi-tubular elements with headers may be used in the proposed construction instead of the troughs.

An IBTL system having a low GHG footprint for converting biomass to liquid fuels in which a biomass feed is converted to liquids by direct liquefaction and the liquids are upgraded to produce premium fuels. Biomass residues from the direct liquefaction, and optionally additional biomass is pyrolyzed to produce structured biochar, hydrogen for the liquefaction and upgrading, and CO₂ for conversion to algae, including blue green algae (cyanobacteria) in a photobioreactor (PBR). Produced algae and diazotrophic microorganisms are used to produce a biofertilizer that also contains structured biochar. The structured biochar acts as a nucleation agent for the algae in the PBR, as a absorption agent to absorb inorganics from the biomass feed to direct liquefaction or from the liquids produced thereby, and as a water retention agent in the biofertilizer. The ratio of cyanobacteria to diazotrophic microorganisms in the biofertilizer can be selected to optimize the so as to achieve desired total chemically active carbon and nitrogen contents in the soil for a given crop.

The process of cultivating haemtococcus pluvialis and producing astaxanthin includes compounding culture medium, one-step production process, circular use of the culture meidum and utilziing CO2 in regualting the pH value of culture liquid, inducing sporification of haemtococcus pluvialis and accumulating astaxanthin. The said process including cell growth of haemtococcus pulvalis, spore conversion and astaxanthin accumulation is completed in the same culture medium inside one identical bioreactor. The culture period may be shortened to 12-15 days, and the culture medium may be reused for at least six times via proper treatment. The production process has no effluent drainage, high astaxanthin yield and quality.

This invention relates to open or close top photobioreactor apparatus for improved productivity with a small footprint, that can be placed in varied temperature zones, above or below ground on land or in water or use in space-station for conducting aqueous aerobic or anaerobic; continues or batch wise cultivation and harvesting of photoautotrophic organism's.

More particularly this invention concerns with a novel means and process for uniform optical dispersion and optical enhancement by utilizing a solar energy collection unit attached to a photo-emitting system which emits full spectrum or specific wavelength light substantially uniformly and radially along its length.

The invention relates to the environmental protection field, the microalgae cultivation engineering field and the biodiesel refining field, specifically an integrated production method of organic sewage/waste residue treatment, microalgae culturing and oil refining. The method comprises: treating the organic sewage and organic waste residue respectively by anaerobic biochemical technology to generate biogas for generating electricity and supplying heat; performing aerobic biochemical treatment to the sewage and biogas slurry; blending into nutrient solution, and adding into large-scale photobioreactor; passing into biogas, burning to generate carbon dioxide waste gas for culturing oil-containing microalgae; collecting the obtained microalgae by air floatation method and breaking the walls; separating the oil-containing microalgae into microalgae oil, microalgae protein, microalgae polysaccharide and microalgae residue; and refining biodiesel accorded with the national standard using the microalgae oil as raw oil. The invention integrates the organic sewage and waste residue treatment, microalgae culturing and processing, and biodiesel refining; reduces production cost; realizes biodiesel clean production; and treats the 'three wastes'.

The invention relates to a micro-algae industrialization production device and a method of producing the micro-algae, which belong to the engineering field of the micro-algae culturing and the technical field of the environmental protection. An air-pushed type photobiology reactor unit device is an annular shallow pond built by bricks and concrete, an isolation wall with both ends opened is built in the shallow pond, a liquid drainage pipe and a liquid replacement pipe are arranged in the air-pushed type photobiology reactor unit device, an air inlet pipe is fixed on the isolation wall in the middle part of the air-pushed type photobiology reactor unit device and is connected with a plurality of L-shaped branch pipes, a plurality of micro blowholes are arranged on side walls of the transversal pipes of the branch pipes, the whole air-pushed type photobiology reactor unit device is covered by agricultural film and is provided with a skylight, to form an enclosed type photobiology reactor. The device combines the individual advantage of the open type photobiology reactor and the enclosed type photobiology reactor, by adopting the industrial waste gas and the eutrophication surface water or the industrial wastewater as the main raw material to perform micro-algae culturing in a large scale, especially to culture the micro-algae with high oil percentage, to provide the large or medium sized bio-diesel factory with raw oil, and simultaneously the emission reduction of carbon dioxide and the treatment of polluted water body are realized.

The present method transfers carbon dioxide in increased concentrations using perfluorodecalin for growth of algae in a photobioreactor. First, a perfluorodecalin solution is provided and mixed with a biological growth medium and a surfactant. The biological growth medium, perfluorodecalin solution, and surfactant mixture are then emulsified by circulation in a high-pressure emulsifier. The emulsified biological growth medium, perfluorodecalin solution, and surfactant mixture are then added to a photobioreactor containing algae capable of photosynthetically utilizing carbon dioxide. After adding carbon dioxide to the photobioreactor, the carbon dioxide dissolves in the perfluorodecalin solution at a higher concentration than in the growth medium. Conditions sufficient for the algae to perform photosynthesis using carbon dioxide from the perfluorodecalin solution are maintained thereby increasing the growth rate of the algae in increased concentration of carbon dioxide due to the increased solubility of carbon dioxide in the perfluorodecalin solution.

The invention discloses a set of apparatus and a method for culturing Haematococcus pluvialis and converting astaxanthin in large scale. The apparatus consists of a photo-bioreactor system set on the frisket, aeration equipment, culture fluid inoculation equipment and still cell harvesting equipment. Floating or sunken pulse equipment is set on the frisket. The apparatus don't need establishment of artificial culture pool and other institution, but uses natural water body to culture Haematococcus pluvialis in large scale. It is low cost, the culture temperature, illumination and water flow rate is stable, culture fluid flows with each other, aeration is continuous, culture conditions are precedent, which make the growth and increment of Haematococcus pluvialis almost at equal pace. The growth rate of Haematococcus pluvialis can reach to 25%, biomass increase is fast, doubles 3-5 days. The photo-bioreactor can be hoisted into required depth of the water, which solves the contradiction of difference of temperature, illumination and nutrition of Haematococcus pluvialis culture and astaxanthin conversion.

An airlift circulation micro-algae photoautotrophic-heterotrophic coupling photobioreactor for wastewater treatment carbon emission mitigation includes feeding pipe, micro-algae heterotrophic zone, gas-liquid separation chamber, micro-algae phototrophic zone, bottom backflow zone, discharge pipe, and the liquid drained zone.

A system for the production and harvesting of algae including one or more of the following components: A turbulator for dissolving carbon dioxide in water to form an algae growth media, a photobioreactor having a serpentine flow path for the algae growth media through spaced apart high and low baffles with an associated light source, a dewatering device for the algae slurry harvested from the photobioreactor, a turbulator for breaking up the cells in the algae sludge coming off the dewatering device, a cooker for cooking the broken up algae cells under pressure and a settling tank for separating the cooked cells into oil, spent media and biomass fractions.

The invention relates to a method for culturing microalgae by an illumination way and a reactor thereof, which belong to the technical field of biology. In the invention, carbon dioxide is injected into a pipeline through a carbon dioxide feeding device during the microalgae culturing process, and microalgae liquid culture from a fermentation tank and the injected carbon dioxide are fully mixed through a circulating pump and then flow in the pipeline; as the pipeline is twisted on a cylindrical light source, the carbon dioxide can be fully utilized for photosynthesize; and the microalgae culture that flows out from the pipeline enters the fermentation tank, then is fully mixed with aerated air by stirring of a stirring vane, and then pumped into the pipeline again to form flow circulation. The bioreactor adopting the method can absorb 40-80 percent of carbon dioxide in fixed aerated air under the condition of injecting 1-40 percent of carbon dioxide, obtains the microalgae with dry cell weight concentration up to more than 3.5g/L after five-day culture and achieves the purposes of effectively absorbing carbon dioxide and culturing the microalgae.