Abstract: This invention provides a culture control method and a cell culture apparatus that enable stable cell culture by regulating shear stress to be applied to cells within an adequate range. With the application of such culture control method and cell culture apparatus, cell culture is performed under agitation culture conditions in which the shear stress distribution is 0.5 Pa to 20 Pa in 80% or more of the culture vessel by volume.

Abstract: The present invention provides a production method for biofuel based on a technology to convert carbon-dioxide as a carbon source through photosynthesis by photosynthetic microorganisms to biomass and produce biofuel of the biomass. The production method for biofuel of the present invention comprises a culturing process (S1) of culturing in a culture solution photosynthetic microorganisms which store oils, fats and carbohydrates in cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms, an oil and fat conversion process (S2) of converting the carbohydrates stored in the cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms cultured in the culture apparatus to oils and fats, an extraction process (S3) of extracting the oils and fats out of the cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms, and a reforming process (S4) to reform the extracted oils and fats.

Abstract: This invention provides a culture control method and a cell culture apparatus that enable stable cell culture by regulating shear stress to be applied to cells within an adequate range. With the application of such culture control method and cell culture apparatus, cell culture is performed under agitation culture conditions in which the shear stress distribution is 0.5 Pa to 20 Pa in 80% or more of the culture vessel by volume.

Abstract: The present invention provides a production method for biofuel based on a technology to convert carbon-dioxide as a carbon source through photosynthesis by photosynthetic microorganisms to biomass and produce biofuel of the biomass. The production method for biofuel of the present invention comprises a culturing process (S1) of culturing in a culture solution photosynthetic microorganisms which store oils, fats and carbohydrates in cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms, an oil and fat conversion process (S2) of converting the carbohydrates stored in the cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms cultured in the culture apparatus to oils and fats, an extraction process (S3) of extracting the oils and fats out of the cells of the photosynthetic microorganisms, and a reforming process (S4) to reform the extracted oils and fats.

Abstract: The control device according to the present invention includes an input device for entering measured data from a measurement unit, which measures nutrient components, the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and biomass in a culture medium; a processor for calculating nutrient components uptake rate, oxygen uptake rate and carbon dioxide exhaust rate per unit amount of biomass from the measured data entered in the aforementioned input device, as well as volumetric mass transfer coefficient kLa from turbulent energy k and a turbulent energy dissipation rate e, both of which are calculated by a transport equation, as well as a diffusion coefficient D, followed by calculating the concentrations of the nutrient components, dissolved oxygen and dissolved carbon dioxide in any area in the fermenter; and a display for displaying concentration distribution of the nutrient components, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved carbon dioxide in the fermenter.

Abstract: The present invention achieves a smaller difference between a dissolved oxygen concentration in an upper part of a culture tank and a dissolved oxygen concentration in a lower part of the culture tank. The present invention comprises: a culture tank; a sparger means arranged in a lower part of the culture tank; and multiple impellers being arranged in multiple stages in a vertical direction of the culture tank and having a larger mass transfer capacity coefficient KLa per unit number of revolutions in an upper stage than in a lower stage.

Abstract: Provided is an operation controller of a culture tank which can more precisely control the internal state of the culture tank by specifying a relatively small number of internal state variables, thus constructing a mathematical model which describes intracellular conditions by using these internal state variables, and thereby incorporating observable external variables thereto. The operation controller includes: a culture tank in which a culture medium for culturing animal cells or microorganism is enclosed, a measuring device for measuring concentrations of nutrient components, concentrations of products, and the number density of cells in the culture medium; a supply device for replenishing the nutrient components and oxygen into the culture medium; and an arithmetic processing unit in which the measured values from the measuring device are inputted, and which thus controls the supply device.

Abstract: The present invention allows biomass and/or biomass-produced components to be obtained at high yields by executing numeric simulation of flow to reasonably identify the running conditions suitable for a fermenter.

Abstract: When at least one of a distribution of gas composition and distribution of temperature inside a furnace is estimated by dividing the region inside the furnace into two-dimensional or three-dimensional cells, and calculating a gas flow rate, a gas reaction amount, a coal combustion rate, a radiant heat transfer rate in each of the cells, based on design data including furnace dimentions and operational data including a coal supply rate and an air supply rate, an air ratio of gas phase--gas composion table is referred to, thereby to simplify the gas reaction amount calculation and reduce drastically time required for the calculation.

Abstract: In the fast breeder reactor according to this invention, a medium-pressure plenum and a high-pressure plenum are disposed, in the mentioned order from above in a reactor core. Sodium is filled in the medium- and high-pressure plenums. The pressure in the medium-pressure plenum is lower than that in the high-pressure plenum. The lower ends of the entrance nozzles of a multiplicity of fuel assemblies loaded in the reactor core are supported by a supporting plate which forms a boundary between the medium- and high-pressure plenums. The entrance nozzles of control rod guide pipes disposed among the multiplicity of fuel assemblies are also supported by said supporting plate. The sodium in the medium-pressure plenum is supplied into each control rod guide pipe through a first opening provided in the lateral surface of the entrance nozzle of each control rod guide pipe.

Abstract: This invention relates to a fuel assembly for fast reactors and aims to reduce stresses induced in fuel pins by interaction between a wrapper tube and a bundle of fuel elements each of which consists of the fuel pin and a wire spacer wound around the fuel pin. The fuel elements consists of two kinds of fuel elements, one of them consists of conventional fuel pins and wire spacers and the other fuel pins of smaller diameter than the conventional fuel pins and wire spacers of larger diameter than the conventional wire spacers whereby the fuel assembly is provided with larger space therein.