Fermenter Partition Wall with Automatic Fluid Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 'air lift' fermenters face issues with foaming and uncontrolled evaporation leading to decreased liquid medium levels, which can cause ineffective stirring and gas exchange, potentially killing microorganisms and requiring complex and costly mechanical systems or unreliable human intervention for correction.
Innovation Solution
A fermenter with a partition wall equipped with automatic fluid communication devices that switch configurations based on pressure differences between ascending and descending circulation volumes, allowing free or blocked fluid circulation to maintain effective stirring and gas exchange regardless of liquid medium levels, eliminating the need for motorized systems and human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If motorized stirrers are used to stir the liquid medium at various levels, then the stirring effectiveness is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces motorized mechanical stirrers with a gas circulation system that creates fluid circulation through gas injection. Gas is injected at the bottom of one compartment to create an ascending circulation, which then descends in the other compartment, eliminating the need for mechanical motors and shafts while maintaining stirring effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses gas injection (pneumatics) to drive the circulation of liquid medium. By injecting gas at the bottom of one compartment, it creates a gas-liquid mixture that rises and then descends in the other compartment, using fluid dynamics principles to achieve stirring without mechanical components.
2Device complexity
If air lift technology is used for stirring, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability decreases when liquid medium level drops due to foaming or evaporation
Solution Approach 1:
The fermenter is divided into two separate compartments by a partition wall: an ascending circulation volume and a descending circulation volume. This segmentation allows independent control of gas injection and fluid circulation paths, enabling the system to maintain reliability across varying liquid levels by optimizing each compartment's function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to changing liquid levels by maintaining gas injection at the bottom of the ascending volume, which automatically adjusts the circulation pattern based on the actual liquid level. This dynamic response ensures continuous effective stirring and gas exchange even when liquid level drops due to foaming or evaporation.
3Reliability
If manual closing means are used to control openings in the inner tube, then the circulation deactivation risk is reduced, but the ease of operation decreases due to human intervention requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system is designed to be self-regulating through its compartment structure and gas injection mechanism. The gas injection at the bottom of the ascending volume automatically maintains circulation without requiring manual intervention or closing means. The system self-adjusts to liquid level changes, eliminating the need for human operation while maintaining circulation stability.
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
Ensures reliable and cost-effective operation by maintaining effective stirring and gas exchange across varying liquid levels, preventing microorganism death and reducing the risk of fermenter dysfunction, while being simple and secure, without external contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
A device for injecting gas into the lower part of one of the first or second volumes in order to create in this volume an ascending circulation of the mixture between the liquid medium and the injected gas
Implementation Method 2
a descending circulation of this mixture in the volume not supplied with gas by the injection device
Implementation Method 3
switch configurations based on pressure differences between ascending and descending circulation volumes
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a digester for a liquid medium, comprising a container, a dividing wall between two spaces, and a device for injecting gas into the lower part of one of the spaces. The gas creates an upflow of the mixture of liquid medium and injected gas in said space, and a downflow in the other space. The dividing wall is equipped with at least one device for establishing a fluid communication between the spaces, so that the fluid communication configuration is automatically varied between a first open configuration in which fluid can flow freely from one space to the other, and a second closed configuration in which the flow of fluid is blocked fully or partially by the aforementioned device.