JP2969664B2 - Biological reactor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a biological reaction device used as an artificial lumen, a biological culture device, a fermentation device, a sewage treatment device, and the like.

[Conventional technology]

In the rumen (ruminal rum) of ruminants such as cattle and sheep, protozoa and other protozoa and bacteria coexist, and the ruminated feed is digested by an anaerobic reaction.

As an artificial rumen for culturing bacteria and protozoa in an anaerobic atmosphere by imitating such ruminant rumen, or as an artificial rumen for culturing bacteria and protozoa, for example, the device of Weller et al. (Weller RA et al, Br. J. .Nutr. 32 , 341 (197
4)), the device of Hoover et al. (Hoover WHet al, J. Animal S
cience, 43 (2) 528 (1976)), a device of Hannah et al. (Hannah SMet al, Animal Feed S) which improved the device of Hoover et al.
cience and Technology, 16 , 51 (1986)) and the apparatus of Teather et al. (Teather RM et al, J. DairyScience, 71 , 666 (198)
8)) or an apparatus disclosed in JP-A-57-91158 is known.

However, although these devices have characteristics based on each viewpoint, when viewed as a whole,
It was not satisfactory. For example, the device of Weller et al. Can feed long plants as a substrate, but since it does not have a crushing mechanism, it can not expect digestion equivalent to rumination of animals, and culture is temporarily suspended because half of the substrate is replaced every day. It has the disadvantage that it must be done.

Although the device of Hannah et al. Can continuously discharge the contents, it is difficult to pulverize the sample because fermentation and crushing of the sample in the culture tank are difficult. In addition, the sample must be pelletized, and a digestion test of any shape cannot be performed.

Although the device of Teather et al. Devised a stirrer to be able to cope with a somewhat large sample, there is no pulverizing mechanism.
These devices are no different from those of Hannah and others. Further, there is also a problem that it is difficult to keep the solid-liquid balance of the contents constant because there is no filtration device.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems by supplying a solid sample at an arbitrarily set time and pulverizing the solid sample in a reaction tank to perform a biological reaction, and to generate the solid-liquid while maintaining a constant solid-liquid balance. Provided is a bioreactor capable of efficiently discharging a substance, functioning a filtration device for preventing a sample such as a long plant tissue having insufficient fermentation from flowing out over a long period, and centrally controlling the entire device. That is.

[Means for solving the problem]

 The present invention is the following biological reaction device.

(1) A reaction tank for introducing a sample in the presence of a living organism to perform a biological reaction, a gear device provided in the reaction tank to pulverize the sample, and a stirring device for stirring the contents of the reaction tank. A biological reaction device comprising a sample introduction device for introducing a sample into a reaction tank and an extraction device for extracting the contents of the reaction tank.

(2) The biological reaction device according to (1), wherein the gear device comprises a planetary gear device in which a planetary gear revolves around the sun gear.

(3) The biological reaction device according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the stirring device comprises a stirring blade for moving the contents of the reaction tank in a radial direction and a screw conveyor for moving the contents in a vertical direction.

(4) The biological reaction device according to any one of the above (1) to (3), wherein the removal device is a screw conveyor with a filtration device.

In the present invention, the biological reaction is fermentation, culture, digestion,
It refers to all reactions involving organisms, such as biological treatment. These reactions may be aerobic reactions or anaerobic reactions, and are configured to maintain conditions suitable for each reaction. In addition, the biological reaction can be performed continuously and automated by computer control.

(Operation)

In the biological reaction device of the present invention, in the presence of a living organism for performing a biological reaction in the reaction tank, a sample serving as a substrate is introduced from the sample introduction device, and the gear device is driven to crush the sample, Perform a biological reaction while stirring with a stirrer,
The product is removed from the removal device. At this time, the solid sample introduced into the reaction tank is pulverized by a gear device and subjected to a biological reaction in a stirred state.

When a planetary gear device in which a planet gear revolves around a sun gear is used as a gear device, the sample can be crushed and agitated, and in particular, when the planet gear reciprocates and revolves, similar to the contraction motion of the stomach. Stirring is performed to obtain reaction conditions suitable for the artificial lumen.

When a stirrer consisting of a stirring blade for moving the contents in the radial direction and a screw conveyor for moving the contents in the vertical direction is provided in the reaction tank, the solid matter in the reaction tank is supplied to the gear device and pulverized, and the solidified state is obtained. The reaction takes place.

When a screw conveyor with a filtration device is used as the unloading device, the solid and liquid are discharged at a constant ratio, so that the solid-liquid balance in the reaction tank is kept constant.
The product is discharged efficiently.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a biological reaction apparatus of an embodiment applied to an artificial lumen, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part thereof.

In the figure, a biological reaction device 1 has a reaction tank 2, the periphery of which is covered with a jacket 3, and the temperature is controlled by a heating medium 4 supplied to the inside thereof. A lid 5 is provided on the upper part of the reaction tank 2, and a sample 8 is introduced from a sample introduction device 7 through a shutter 6.

A gear device 9 is inserted into the reaction tank 2 through the lid 5 so as to pulverize and stir the contents 11 of the reaction tank 2. Further, in the reaction tank 2, a stirring device including a stirring blade 12 for moving the contents 11 in a radial direction and a screw conveyor 13 for moving the contents 11 in a vertical direction is provided. An unloading device including a screw conveyor 16 with a filtering device 15 is provided so as to penetrate the upper side wall of the reaction tank 2 and communicate with the screw conveyor 13. Filtration device
For 15, a removable filtration net is attached,
Since it can be replaced at any time, a continuous reaction is performed efficiently. Reference numeral 17 denotes an injection pipe for injecting a chemical such as a buffer into the reaction tank 2, 18 a vent pipe for supplying a gas such as nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas, 19 a pH meter, and 20 a thermistor.

In the sample introduction device 7, a sample 8 is placed on a sample stage 22 provided in a sample tube 21 so as to be able to protrude and retract in multiple stages. The sample table 22 is connected to a tension spring 24 via a locking ring 23. An annular lever 26 is a fulcrum on a support 25 for stopping the extension spring 24.
The sample stage is mounted so that it can reciprocate
A locking pin 28 provided on the side end is engaged with the locking ring 23. A ladder chain 29 is inserted on the opposite side of the annular lever 26, and a hook 30 provided on a part of the ladder chain 29 can abut on an end 31 of the annular lever 26.
The ladder chain 29 is pulled up by a motor 32.

The gear device 9 includes a sun gear 34 provided integrally with the stirring blade 12, and is rotatable by a motor 36 via a rotating shaft 35. Around the sun gear 34, two planet gears 37,
38 engages in a symmetrical position and revolves and rotates. The planetary gears 37 and 38 are attached to a rotary arm 41 by rotating shafts 39 and 40 so as to be freely rotatable. The rotating arm 41 is rotated by a motor 43 via a hollow shaft 42.

The screw conveyor 13 is rotated by a motor 46 via a rotating shaft 45, and the screw conveyor 16 is rotated by a motor 47. The shutter 6 is opened and closed by a motor 48. pH meter 19, thermistor 20
Are sent to the personal computer 52 and the board computer 53 via the interface 51, and the signals of the personal computer 52 and the board computer 53 are sent to the motors 32, 36, 43, 46, 47,
48, and other equipment, and perform biological reactions according to the program.

The above-described biological reaction device 1 includes a personal computer 52
The reaction conditions are set and changed according to, and the operation under the determined conditions is performed by the board computer 53.

In the biological reaction, the organism for performing a biological reaction such as a protozoa or a bacterium, and a nutrient source and other media as necessary are placed in the reaction tank 2 in advance. When the biological reaction device 1 is used as an artificial lumen, the rumen contents taken out of the rumen of a ruminant are put into the reaction tank 2.

When the motor 48 is driven and the shutter 6 is opened, and the motor 32 is driven to pull up the ladder chain 29, the hook 30 pulls up the end 31 of the annular lever 26.
The locking pin 28 is disengaged from the locking ring 23, the sample table 22 is pulled by the tension spring 24, and the sample 8 is introduced into the reaction tank 2. The introduction of the sample 8 is performed at intervals according to the conditions of the biological reaction, and in the case of the artificial lumen, the interval is adjusted to the feeding of the animal. For example, in the case of the drawing, a daily feed is divided into 12 feeds and introduced into the reaction tank 2 every hour.
After the sample 8 is introduced, the shutter 6 is closed.

In the reaction tank 2, the rotation of the motor 36 causes the sun gear 34 and the stirring blade 12 of the gear unit 9 to rotate integrally. Planetary gear meshed with sun gear 34 by rotation
37 and 38 also rotate, and the introduced sample 8 is crushed.
By rotating the rotary arm 41 by the rotation of the motor 43, the planetary gears 37 and 38 revolve, and the sample 8 is crushed and stirred over the entire circumference of the sun gear 34. Planetary gear 3
7 and 38 may be rotated in the same direction, but by rotating them back and forth, a more favorable pulverizing effect can be obtained and the same stirring as in the case of contraction of the lumen can be performed.

Due to the rotation of the stirring blade 12, the contents 11 of the reaction vessel 2 move in the radial direction and circulate. Even with such stirring, light ones float on the top and heavy ones settle on the bottom, so that by rotating the screw conveyor 13 forward and reverse by rotating the motor 46, these light and heavy The contents are also stirred uniformly, supplied to the gear unit 9 to pulverize the entire solid matter, and the contents 11 are homogenized, whereby a uniform biological reaction can be performed.

At the time of the biological reaction, a drug such as a buffer is injected from the injection pipe 17, and an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the ventilation pipe 18. In the case of an anaerobic biological reaction such as an artificial lumen, nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas is supplied to keep the anaerobic, but in the case of an aerobic reaction, air is supplied.

By rotating the screw conveyor 16 by the motor 47, the product in the reaction tank 2 is separated out by the filtration device 15 and taken out. This keeps the solid-liquid balance constant while the product is efficiently removed and the biological treatment continues in a steady state.

The pH inside the reaction tank 2 is controlled by the output value of the pH meter 19, and the temperature is controlled by the output value of the thermistor 20, and these are centrally controlled by a personal computer 52 and a board computer 53.

The sun gear 34, the planetary gear 37, and the
38 may be a circular or elliptical spur gear or a bevel gear. The elliptical gear can perform agitation similar to the contraction movement of the lumen.

In the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2, the rumen contents of the sheep immediately before feeding were introduced into a reaction tank 2 having a capacity of 280 ml, and 7.8 g of hay / day, 2.2 g / day of soybean meal, and 2.0 g / day of rice starch were used. This mixture was divided into 12 parts to obtain Sample 8, which was introduced into the reaction tank 2 every hour. The biological reaction test was performed by rotating the sun gear 34 and the stirring blade 12 at 0.5 rpm and reciprocating the planetary gears 37 and 38 one revolution at 2 rpm.

FIG. 3 shows changes in the number of protozoa during the test period, and FIG. 4 shows changes in pH and volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the reaction tank.

From the above results, it can be seen that the biological reaction device 1 performs the same biological reaction as the lumen.

Although the above embodiments relate to artificial lumens, they can be applied to other biological reactions such as fermentation, culture, and sewage treatment.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since a gear device and a stirring device are used, a solid sample can be pulverized and homogenized, and a biological reaction can be efficiently performed. Therefore, even a long sample can be sufficiently pulverized and provided for biological treatment.

When a planetary gear device in which a planetary gear revolves around a sun gear is used as a gear device, the sample can be crushed and agitated. Particularly when the planetary gear reciprocates, a better crushing effect can be obtained. In addition, agitation similar to that in the case of gastric contraction is performed, and reaction conditions suitable for an artificial lumen can be obtained.

If a stirrer consisting of a stirring blade for moving the contents in the radial direction and a screw conveyor for moving the contents in the vertical direction is provided in the reaction tank, the solid matter in the reaction tank is supplied to the gear device and pulverized to be uniform. To carry out the reaction.

If a screw conveyor with a filtration device is used as a take-out device, the accumulation of sludge at the discharge port can be prevented,
The product can be efficiently discharged while keeping the solid-liquid balance constant.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the biological reaction device of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are graphs showing test results. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts, 2 denotes a reaction tank, 3 denotes a jacket, 7 denotes a sample introduction device, 8 denotes a sample, 9 denotes a gear device, 12 denotes a stirring blade, 13, 16 denotes a screw conveyor, and 15 denotes a screw conveyor. A filtration device, 22 is a sample stage, 26 is an annular lever, 29 is a ladder chain, 34 is a sun gear, 37 and 38 are planetary gears, 51 is an interface, 52 is a personal computer, and 53 is a board computer.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A reaction vessel for introducing a sample in the presence of a living organism to carry out a biological reaction, a gear device provided in the reaction vessel so as to pulverize the sample, and a stirrer for stirring the contents of the reaction vessel. A bioreactor comprising a device, a sample introduction device for introducing a sample into a reaction tank, and a take-out device for taking out the contents of the reaction tank. 2. The biological reaction device according to claim 1, wherein the gear device comprises a planetary gear device in which a planet gear revolves around a sun gear. 3. The biological reaction device according to claim 1, wherein the stirring device comprises a stirring blade for moving the contents of the reaction tank in a radial direction and a screw conveyor for moving the contents in a vertical direction. 4. The biological reaction device according to claim 1, wherein the take-out device comprises a screw conveyor with a filtration device.