Fiber production from continuous cultivation of micro-organisms

摘要

An apparatus and process for the production of polysaccharide (cellulose) fibers for use in paper manufacturing. The fibers are produced by the harvesting of the liberated products of continuous micro-organism cultivation. In the preferred embodiment a suitable micro-organism such as Sphaerotilus natans is grown on a pitted metallic plate supplied with a flowing nutrient substrate. With abundant pellicle growth the nutrient flow is halted temporarily while a blade passes over the plate harvesting the pellicle growth and depositing the harvest products onto a sluice conveyor. Conventional paper stock washers inundate the blade and wash the products onto the sluice conveyor. The blade is retracted and the nutrient flow restored until the pellicle growth again becomes abundant. The harvest products are then further processed to remove undesirable non-cellulosic materials depending upon the particular micro-organisms used.