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WO-2026097022-A1 - STRUCTURED REACTOR FOR BIOFILM CULTIVATION AND GASEOUS EXTRACTION

WO2026097022A1WO 2026097022 A1WO2026097022 A1WO 2026097022A1WO-2026097022-A1

Abstract

A scalable and modular bioreactor defines a compact gas-liquid interface area populated with gas consuming microbes in a stacked arrangement for facilitating growth of the microbes in the presence of the greenhouse gases the microbes consume. A biofilm-based interface between liquid and gaseous regions of the reactor positions the microbes at the gas-liquid interface for metabolic exchanges of the gas for conversion into liquid and gaseous output. Microbes are selected for an affinity for a particular gas, such as methane (CH 4 ), and metabolize carbon based outputs such as carbon biopolymers and gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ) for harvesting or recircling back for further metabolic conversions.

Inventors

  • BILLINGS, Nicole
  • SIUTI, Piro
  • SATER, Mohamad

Assignees

  • H2Biosys Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251103
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (16)

  1. 1. A bioreactor containment device, comprising: a containment unit defining a liquid-gas interface; a growth substrate disposed at the liquid-gas interface and having a liquid exposed side and a gas exposed side; and the growth substrate providing cultivation of a microbial product from gaseous engagement with the gas-exposed side of the growth substrate at the liquidgas interface.
  2. 2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of exchange units in the containment, the plurality of exchange units stacked in a parallel adjacency in the containment, each of the exchange units defining a respective liquid-gas interface.
  3. 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the growth substrate is disposed in a substantially horizontal orientation, the gas exposed side above the liquid exposed side, the growth substrate accumulating a cultivated biofilm, the biofilm separable from the growth substrate for forming the microbial product.
  4. 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the growth substrate is responsive to an elongated scraper, the elongated scraper extending along the growth substrate in a Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT first dimension and disposable across the growth substrate along a second dimension.
  5. 5. The device of claim 1 further comprising an accumulation of a biofilm, the biofilm accumulating on the gaseous side from engagement and reaction with a gaseous phase of reactants.
  6. 6. The device of claim 2 wherein each exchange unit is defined by a cassette, each cassette insertably removable from the containment.
  7. 7. The device of claim 1 further comprising a liquid coupling between the liquid exposed side and a liquid source; a gaseous coupling between the gas exposed side and a gaseous source; the gaseous engagement providing a combination of a liquid from the liquid source and a gas from the gaseous source on the growth substrate.
  8. 8. The device of claim 2 further comprising: a liquid vessel in fluidic communication with the liquid exposed side; a gaseous vessel in fluidic communication with the gas exposed side; a liquid source engaged with the liquid vessel; and a gaseous source engaged with the gaseous vessel, the containment operable for continuous microbial growth based on liquid and gaseous flow.
  9. 9. The device of claim 6 wherein each of the cassettes defines a respective sealed fluid volume, the sealed fluid volumes separated from the others of the respective sealed fluid volumes, the containment encapsulating a common gaseous volume in fluidic communication with each of the cassettes. Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT
  10. 10. The device of claim 8, further comprising a microbial reactant disposed on the growth substrate, wherein the gaseous source further comprises methane and the liquid source further comprises water.
  11. 11. The device of claim 4, further comprising an actuator engaged with the scraper, the actuator configured for advancing the scraper in slidable communication with The growth substrate, thereby accumulating the microbial product along a leading edge of the scraper.
  12. 12. The device of claim 1 wherein the growth substrate is a membrane seeded with methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) for conversion of methane, the methane Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT forming gaseous products including hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and the liquid side receives carbon-based biopolymers, the liquid side engaged with a downstream consumer of carbon based products.
  13. 13. A method for mitigation of waste gases, comprising: deploying a containment unit defining a liquid-gas interface in an adjacency with a gaseous source for mitigation; seeding a growth substrate with a microbial growth, the growth substrate disposed at the liquid-gas interface and having a liquid exposed side and a gas exposed side: introducing a liquid into the containment unit in communication with the growth substrate at the gas-liquid interface; and introducing a gas into the containment in communication with the growth substrate, the growth substrate providing cultivation of a microbial product from gaseous engagement with the gas-exposed side of the growth substrate at the liquidgas interface.
  14. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising deploying a plurality of exchange units in the containment unit, the plurality of exchange units stacked in a parallel adjacency in the containment, each of the exchange units defining the liquid-gas interface.
  15. 15. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the exchange units is defined by a cassette in removable engagement with the containment unit.
  16. 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the containment unit defines a common gaseous fluid volume in communication with each of the cassettes in the containment unit, each of the cassettes containing a respective liquid volume.

Description

Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT PATENT APPLICATION CJL STRUCTURED REACTOR FOR BIOFILM CULTIVATION AND GASEOUS EXTRACTION Inventors: Nicole Billings, Piro Siuti and Mohamad Sater Attorney Docket No.: H2B24-01PCT BACKGROUND 5 Substantial attention has been focused on harmful effects of so-called “greenhouse” gases (GHG). Anthropogenic gases emitted by various sources contribute to an unhealthy atmospheric aggregation and exacerbation of climate change. Human activities have intensified the greenhouse effect, leading to elevated global temperatures, driving climate change. Methane (CH4), a GHG 80x more 10 potent than CO2, continues to rise at an alarming rate. The U.S. alone releases 800 million metric tons CO2 equivalent (MMT CO2-e) from sources ranging from municipal landfills, agricultural waste, and fossil fuel extraction. 15 SUMMARY A scalable and modular bioreactor defines a compact gas-liquid interface area populated with gas consuming microbes in a stacked arrangement for facilitating growth of the microbes in the presence of the greenhouse gases the microbes consume. A biofilm-based interface between liquid and gaseous regions 20 of the reactor positions the microbes at the gas-liquid interface for metabolic exchanges of the gas for conversion into liquid and gaseous output. Microbes are selected for an affinity for a particular gas, such as methane (CPU), and metabolize carbon based outputs such as carbon biopolymers and gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) for harvesting or recircling back for further metabolic 25 conversions. Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT Configurations herein are based, in part, on the observation that greenhouse gas mitigation, and in particular methane mitigation, can be offset by conversion from carefully selected microbes that consume and metabolize the respective greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, conventional approaches to greenhouse gas mitigation suffer from the shortcoming that conventional approaches cannot scale appropriately because an area of the gas-liquid interface though which the microbes thrive is insufficiently small. Batch and liquid reactors define a gas-liquid interface only on the surface of a large liquid volume, leaving metabolizing microbes mostly submerged and distant from the gas-liquid interface, often under pressure to encourage gaseous dissolution in the liquid volume. Accordingly, configurations herein substantially overcome the shortcomings of conventional greenhouse gas mitigation by providing a scalable reactor approach that expands an area of the gasliquid interface beyond the reactor footprint for ensuring that the microbial population is maintained at the gas-liquid interface such that the microbes are engaged with a gaseous side of the reactor for metabolism of the target gas, such as methane. The disclosed approach employs a scalable and modular bioreactor such that a compact gas-liquid interface area is populated with gas consuming microbes in a stacked arrangement for facilitating growth of the microbes in the presence of the greenhouse gases the microbes consume. In further detail, a particular configuration deploys a bioreactor containment device having a containment unit defining a liquid-gas interface, and a growth substrate disposed at the liquid-gas interface and having a liquid exposed side and a gas exposed side. The growth substrate provides cultivation of a microbial product from gaseous engagement with the gas-exposed side of the growth substrate at the liquid-gas interface for efficient aerobic metabolism based on amble exposure to the target gas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features will be apparent from the following description of particular embodiments disclosed herein, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts Attorney Docket No. : H2B24-01PCT throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Fig. 1 is a context view of a general bioreactor configuration in a gas mitigation environment suitable for use with configurations herein; Figs. 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of a bioreactor in the environment of Fig. 1; Figs. 3-3A are a side elevation of an example bioreactor structure according to Figs. 1-2C; Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of cassette removal in the reactors of Figs. 2A- 2C; Fig. 5 shows modularity and scaling of the bioreactors of Figs. 1-4; Fig. 6 shows an apparatus for gathering the biomass generated in the reactors of Figs. 1-5; Fig. 7 shows an example of biofilm generation in the bioreactor of Figs. 1-6 using methane; and; Fig. 8 shows an example of biofilm generation in the bioreactor of Figs. 1-6 using carbon dioxide. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Configurations herein depict an example of a bioreactor including a modular and scalable arrangement of a plurality of growth substrates oriented at a liqu