Apparatus and method for controlling biomass growth in suspended carrier bioreactor
AssigneeShaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.
InventorSamuel Frisch
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Abstract
The present invention provides a bioreactor comprising a vessel having a bottom region and an interior configured to contain an aqueous suspension of biomass and media. A first gas outlet is provided at the bottom region of the vessel. The first gas outlet is positioned to introduce a first stream of gas to promote growth of the biomass on the media. A lift tube is disposed within the vessel, the lift tube having an inlet disposed at the bottom region of the vessel. A second gas outlet is disposed proximal the lift tube inlet to feed gas to the inlet of the lift tube.
Claims20
A bioreactor comprising:
- a vessel having a bottom region and an interior configured to contain an aqueous suspension of biomass and media;
- a first gas outlet at the bottom region of the vessel, said first gas outlet positioned to introduce a first stream of gas providing a first plurality of cavities to promote growth of said biomass on said media;
- a lift tube disposed within the vessel, the lift tube having an inlet disposed at the bottom region of the vessel;
- and
- a second gas outlet positioned to feed gas into the lift tube at a location proximal to the inlet of the lift tube, said second gas outlet configured to introduce a second stream of gas providing a second plurality of cavities to promote separation of said biomass from said media in said lift tube,
- wherein said second gas outlet is configured to introduce cavities larger than said cavities introduced by said first gas outlet.
In a bioreactor containing biomass and media, a method for promoting biomass growth and separating biomass from the media, said method comprising the steps of:
- introducing a first stream of gas providing a first plurality of cavities into the bioreactor to promote the growth of biomass on the media;
- and
- introducing a second stream of gas providing a second plurality of cavities into the bioreactor near an inlet of a lift pipe to generate sufficient shear forces to separate biomass from the media,
- wherein the second stream of gas introduces cavities larger than said cavities introduced by the first stream of gas.
In a bioreactor comprising a vessel having an interior configured to contain an aqueous suspension of biomass and media and a lift tube having an inlet, a method comprising the steps of:
- introducing a first stream of gas providing a first plurality of cavities into the bioreactor to promote the growth of the biomass on the media;
- and
- introducing a second stream of gas providing a second plurality of cavities into the inlet of the lift tube to generate shear forces to separate the biomass from the media,
- wherein the second stream of gas introduces cavities larger than said cavities introduced by the first stream of gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.