Detection of the Number and Volume of Dissolved Bubbles in a Biological Reactor By Using of Machine Vision

The purpose of this article is to design a biological reactor or fermenter equipped with image processing technology in real time with the possibility investigating the volume and number of bubbles in the bioreactor container  that allows instant and precise control for the growth of microorganisms. In the aforementioned biological reactor, optimal conditions are provided for the growth of microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and yeast, and the cultivation of animal and plant cells is easily done in it. The use of this bioreactor allows microorganisms to grow for more than ten generations before being transferred to the production stage. In addition to controlling the volume of air bubbles, the parameters of temperature, CO2, engine speed, amount of oxygen and pH and other parameters are constantly being controlled. In biological reactors, measuring the bubbles created in the container is very important. This importance can be seen from the fact that it causes the creation of various generations of cells in the biological reactor, because the created bubbles are responsible for delivering oxygen to the existing microorganisms, as well as stirring the environment and homogenizing it. In the previous models, it was not possible to measure the amount of air in the container and control the homogeneity of the environment now, and this weakness is overcome with the help of this method. In this article, in the first step, with the help of the camera, moment-by-moment images are recorded as input data, in the second step, the images are processed, and in the last step, the processed images are created with the help of neural networks as output. The volume and amount and dispersion ratio of the bubbles in the container and the simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed method.