EP0224962A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for the continuous cultivation of microorganisms in a culture liquid
Assignee: Government of Netherlands
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Filing: 1986-11-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-11-24
Abstract
Abstract Cultivation tank (1) for continuous cultivation of cells or microorganisms, containing a rotating separating device (11,12) for separating suspended cells from cultivation liquid (10) supplied continuously through a supply (4) and passed through the separating device (11,12) from the outside to the inside, cell free liquid being continuously discharged from within the separating device (11.12), the rotating parts (11,12) of the separating device being formed so that within the outer circumference a zone (15) is formed of a vortex-free, vertical rotating column of cultivation liquid from which the cells are radially thrown out by centrifugal forces into the surrounding liquid (10) through openings in the outlet circumference (11) of the separating device (11,12) are considerably greater than the size of the cells.
Inventors
- 👤 Antonius Ludovicus Van Wezel
- 👤 Hans Henri De Haan
- 👤 Stephan Vermeij
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 08:59
CPC Classifications
C; C12; C12M; C12M27/00; C12M27/02; C12M29/00; C12M29/04; C12M33/00; C12M33/10; C12M47/00; C12M47/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
195 words
Apparatus for the continuous cultivation in suspension of microorganisms, and also of animal and vegetable ceLLs, in a culture Liquid, which apparatus contains a cultivation tank provided with a stirring device, which tank is provided with an inlet for fresh cuLtivation medium and an outlet for used culture Liquid, which tank contains a rotating separating device for separating suspended ceLLs or cell-carrying particles from the culture Liquid passed through the separating device, which separating device is provided with a coLLecting space for culture Liquid rendered essentially free of cells into which the outlet for the culture Liquid, rendered free of cells, debouches , characterized in that the rotating parts of the separating device are formed in a manner such that, within the surface of revolution in which the outside circumference of the rotating parts rotates about an axis of notation, a zone is formed containing a vortex-free axial rotating column of culture Liquid from which the cells which are in suspension are thrown back by centri-fugal forces into the surrounding cuLture Liquid through openings in the outside circumference of the separating device which are considerably Larger than the size of the cells to be separated.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
195 words
Apparatus for the continuous cultivation in suspension of microorganisms, and also of animal and vegetable ceLLs, in a culture Liquid, which apparatus contains a cultivation tank provided with a stirring device, which tank is provided with an inlet for fresh cuLtivation medium and an outlet for used culture Liquid, which tank contains a rotating separating device for separating suspended ceLLs or cell-carrying particles from the culture Liquid passed through the separating device, which separating device is provided with a coLLecting space for culture Liquid rendered essentially free of cells into which the outlet for the culture Liquid, rendered free of cells, debouches , characterized in that the rotating parts of the separating device are formed in a manner such that, within the surface of revolution in which the outside circumference of the rotating parts rotates about an axis of notation, a zone is formed containing a vortex-free axial rotating column of culture Liquid from which the cells which are in suspension are thrown back by centri-fugal forces into the surrounding cuLture Liquid through openings in the outside circumference of the separating device which are considerably Larger than the size of the cells to be separated.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
58 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 1, characterized in that the separating device contains at Least one vertical cylindrical drum which is attached to a central rotating shaft, is closed off at the bottom and has a perforated waLL, the perforations having a size which is considerably greater than the sizes of the ceLLs or cell-carrying particles to be separated.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus according to Claim 2, characterized in that the cylindrical drum is provided on the inside with fins, uniformly distributed over the circumference, which extend radiaLLy inwards and over the full height of the drum.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 3, characterized in that the fins extend inwards with at least a Lower part to the central rotating shaft.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
77 words
Apparatus according to Claim 2, characterized in that the separating device is constructed from two vertical hollow cylindrical drums placed concentrically inside each other with different diameters and which are jointly attached to a central rotating shaft, of which at least the inner drum is closed off at the bottom-.* and which drums are provided with perforations in their walls, the sizes of which are larger than those of the cells or cell-carrying particles to be separated.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
61 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the cylindrical drum at least about its lower part is concentrically surrounded by a cylinder with a larger diameter, said cylinder having a non-perforated wall and being open at both ends, said drum and said cylinder being jointly rotatably attached to the rotating shaft, a stirring device being located underneath the cylinder-drum assembly.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that said non-perforated cylinder surrounds said drum over the whole height thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus according to claim 6 and 7, characterized in that the vertical wall of the inner drum is non-perforated over some extension from the closed bottom of the drum.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
82 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the cylindrical drum is partly surrounded by an open ended cylinder with a larger diameter, having a non-perforated wall and which is non-rotatably fixed in the cultivation tank, the stirring device being disposed within said cylinder at some distance underneath the bottom of the cylindrical drum, said fixed cylinder being further provided with flow guiding means for providing and forcing a vertical lammar flow in the annular space between said cylinder and said drum.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 1, characterized in that the rotating assembly consists of fins, uniformly distributed over the circumference of, and attached to, the rotating shaft, which extend radially outwards and extend vertically over a distance of the rotating shaft.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
41 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 1, characterized in that the separating device is constructed from a number of rotating dish-shaped elements situated at an angle to the rotating shaft and mounted at a distance of one millimetre at most from each other.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus according to one or more of the preceding cLaims, characterized in that the rotating assembly is provided on the rotating shaft of the stirring element.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotating assembly is provided on a separate rotating shaft in the cuLtivation tank.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 8, characterized in that the separate rotation shaft is driven by a separate drive device.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to CLaim 8, characterized in that the rotating shaft of the separating device is driven, by means of a transmission mechanism, by means of the drive of the rotating shaft of the stirring device.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2491801A
Cited
GB1165328A
Cited
DE1808243A1
Cited
US3651945A
Cited
GB1356794A
Cited
FR2511031A1
Cited
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