Biocatalyst Casting Device with Pneumatic Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current devices for producing immobilized biocatalysts using polyvinyl alcohol gel carriers face challenges in optimizing the geometric surface-to-volume ratio, leading to inefficient use of biologically active material and mechanical wear, resulting in low activity products and economic inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The device incorporates a casting mechanism with two rows of needle injectors, a controlled conveyor belt, counter-flow drying, and a high-pressure rinse system with mechanical and jet-based wiping, enabling precise application and efficient removal of polyvinyl alcohol gel-based biocatalysts from the conveyor belt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a mechanical wiper is used to remove immobilizates from the conveyor belt, then the product can be collected, but mechanical wear of the conveyor belt occurs and product damage forms clusters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wiper system with a pneumatic system consisting of air nozzles that blow compressed air onto the conveyor belt to remove immobilizates. This substitution eliminates direct mechanical contact between the removal mechanism and the conveyor belt, thereby preventing mechanical wear and tear while maintaining continuous production capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs pneumatic principles by using compressed air delivered through nozzles to detach and remove the immobilized biocatalysts from the conveyor belt surface. The pneumatic force is sufficient to separate the gel carriers without requiring mechanical scraping or wiping actions that would damage the belt
2Adaptability or versatility
If the conveyor belt surface tension changes due to salt solutions in the reswelling part, then the reswelling process occurs, but the shape of the product changes and damage forms clusters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes the salt solution reswelling step from the process. By eliminating the salt solution application, the source of surface tension change is removed, preventing product shape distortion and clustering while maintaining the ability to process immobilized biocatalysts through alternative reswelling methods that do not involve salt solutions
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potential harm of salt solution-induced surface tension changes into a benefit by completely avoiding salt solution use. This prevents the adverse effects on product shape while still achieving the desired reswelling effect through isonic propyl alcohol or other suitable solvents that do not alter surface tension adversely
3Device complexity
If a single row of casting needle injectors is used, then the device complexity is low, but the manufacturing precision and surface-to-volume optimization is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single row of needle injectors into multiple rows arranged in parallel. This segmentation allows for more precise control of the gel mixture distribution across the conveyor belt width, improving the surface-to-volume ratio of the resulting immobilized biocatalysts while maintaining relative device simplicity through the modular arrangement of multiple identical injector rows
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-row (one-dimensional arrangement) to a multi-row (two-dimensional arrangement) configuration of needle injectors. This dimensional change enables better spatial distribution of the gel mixture, optimizing the surface area coverage and volume utilization of the immobilized biocatalysts without significantly increasing overall device complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This setup enhances the mechanical stability and efficiency of biocatalyst production, allowing for uninterrupted industrial-scale production with improved surface-to-volume optimization and reduced mechanical wear, ensuring high activity and economic viability.
Implementation Method 1
casting needle injectors with a diameter varying from 0.1 mm to 2.00 mm, which pulsate by the help of electromagnets with different frequency and different pulse length
Implementation Method 2
where it is changed into an adhesive mass by drying and physically gelation during the production process
Implementation Method 3
Ambient or dehumidified air are used as the source of drying media using continuous atmospheric dehumidification or continual freezing, which is warmed up by heating elements before entering the drying channel
Implementation Method 4
changed into an adhesive mass by drying and physically gelation during the production process
Implementation Method 5
a pressure wiper made from stainless steel plate rinsed by spraying jets placed above the pressure stainless steel wiper
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for the industrial production of the biocatalysts with biologically active material in the form of immobilized enzymes or microorganisms which are immobilized into the polyvinyl alcohol gel, and their use based on the fact, that the active biological material, formed by the mixture of free native or pretrated (aggregated) enzyme catalyst, or production microorganism, or part of them, and the polyvinyl alcohol gel, is used for their industrial production, the mixture is gelated and shaped in a stream of drying air at the temperature of 800C to 150C, considering the extent of the biologically active material, at the biocatalyst geometrical ratio of the surface to the volume kept larger than 7 mm'1, and consequently thus prepared biocatalysts can be cultivated or stored and then use in biotechnological processes in the conditions, which ensure given biotechnological process higher productivity, higher production and enzymatic stability, long-term and repeated usage or definable process control with consequence easy separation of the biocatalyst. The industrial production device, providing optimization of the biological carrier volume and surface in dependence on biologically active material extent, consisting of a casting mechanism (17) mounted in front of a drying channel (2), through which a continuous conveyor belt (1) runs, is equipped with at least one casting head (17) with two rows of casting needle injectors connected to a pressure tempered tank (15) and a compressor (16), the conveyor belt (1) and a drying system - the source (4) of a drying air, which is blown by means of ventilator into an air distribution system (6) with incorporated heating elements (5), which runs into the upper drying channel (2), and further the lower final drying channel (3) and a reswelling tank (7), between which a wiping and collecting device (9) is mounted, designed on the basis of mechanical wiping and high-pressure rinse, which is connected to a pipeline with integrated high-pressure pump (10) and low-pressure pump (11) running into a collecting reservoir (8) with cooling and further a rinse box (13) for continuous conveyor belt (1) final cleaning by jets connected to a low- pressure pump (14), which is connected to a rinse tank (12) by pipeline.