Green Engineering 201/301
The Bicycle-powered energy group( Spencer, Andrew, and Jason) will be collaborating with Mr. Chinosi and a charter school in Brighton, Green Academy( http://www.bostongreenacademy.org/ ), regarding bicycle-powered energy generation projects.
Today we will be organizing the Green Engineering room, and begin to think about repairing/renovating the Aquaponics system.
Andrew, Jason, and Matt will be working to update the Green Engineering wiki .( https://greengineers.wikispaces.com/ ).
Taroon(senior) will be researching events and conferences for this year in which the Green Engineering can participate and exhibit. Past examples have included the Cambridge Science Festival ( http://www.cambridgesciencefestival.org/Home.aspx ), Massachusetts STEM Summit( http://mass-stem-summit.org/ ), and MassTec ( http://www.masstec.org/ ) .
He will also be looking at the general shop layout.
Jack spent the summer as an intern working with Grove Labs( https://grovelabs.io/ ), a Somerville-based startup by MIT grads building high-end indoor aquaponics systems.
Grove used OnShape web-based computer-aided design software( https://www.onshape.com/ ) to design their system- see https://www.onshape.com/customers/grove.
OnShape, a Cambridge-based startup, is very similar to Solidworks, but it runs on any platform, including tablets, and is free for student users, and permits multiple users to collaborate on designs over the web.
Appearance is important!
The Green Engineering system will need pumps, timers,
lights, and a wifi-linked microcontroller, such as the
Particle Photon( https://store.particle.io/collections/photon ).
The fish in the bottom tank( Carp or tilapia) excrete ammonia,
which is converted to nitrites and then nitrates( fertilizer):
Cycling starts when you (or your fish) first add ammonia to your aquaponics system. Ammonia (chemical formula NH3) is a compound made of nitrogen and hydrogen. It can come either from your fish or from other sources. Ammonia is toxic to fish and will soon kill them unless it is either diluted to a non-toxic level or converted into a less toxic form of nitrogen. In addition, nitrogen in the ammonia form is not readily taken up by plants, so no matter how high the ammonia levels get in your fish tank; your plants will not be getting much nutrition from it.
The good news is that ammonia attracts nitrosomonas, the first of the two nitrifying bacteria that are present in the air and will populate the surfaces of your system. The nitrosomonas bacteria convert the ammonia into nitrites (NO2) (the golden line in the chart above). This is a necessary step in the aquaponics cycling process; however, nitrites are even more toxic than ammonia! But there is good news because the presence of nitrites attracts the bacteria we are truly after nitrospira (shown by the green line in the graph below). Nitrospira convert the nitrites into nitrates, which are generally harmless to the fish and excellent food for your plants. ( https://www.theaquaponicsource.com/aquaponics-cycling/?v=402f03a963ba ).
Toby spent last semester at the Island School in the Bahamas( http://www.islandschool.org/ ), which focuses on sustainability:
" We explore the framework of Eleuthera’s cultural and environmental landscape through student-centered academics, outdoor programs that support personal growth and leadership development, and outreach programs that practice a project-based approach to local collaboration. "
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Maddie& Toby- Brainstorm ways to showcase the program--
- hallway displays?
- 'Locavore' herbs and greens for the TigerLoft
- GreenEngineering Swag-
- T-shirts ( Custom Ink http://www.customink.com/ or other)
- Business Cards
- Coffee Cups ( VistaPrint)
Finish recycled plastic skateboard project
Aquaponics:
Different wavelengths of light may be needed for different plants.
Perhaps re-engineer the system to be lighter in weight.
Precedents: MIT Media Lab Open Agriculture System( http://openag.media.mit.edu/ ):
System uses lightweight plastic trays for plants, steel channel ( Unistrut) for structural support.
"..The Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAg) is on a mission to create more farmers for the future of food production.
Food Computers, as we call them, will serve as tools for users to experiment, innovate, hack, and grow. Every time users grow and harvest, they will contribute to a library of climate recipes that can be borrowed and scaled so that users around the world can gain access to the best and freshest foods. ..."
We are developing the open source hardware and software platforms for sensor-controlled hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture systems.
Food Computers, as we call them, will serve as tools for users to experiment, innovate, hack, and grow. Every time users grow and harvest, they will contribute to a library of climate recipes that can be borrowed and scaled so that users around the world can gain access to the best and freshest foods. ..."
We are developing the open source hardware and software platforms for sensor-controlled hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture systems.
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Green Engineeering 101 will be doing an algae biofuels project( see http://gnrg.weebly.com/algae.html )
Bicycle-Powered Blender Project- Issue about power output.
Average bicycling power output is about 60 watts , or about 1 ampere at 115V ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_performance ). Typical home electric blender (Oster) is rated at 800 watts, far more than a bicyclist can generate,
Only feasible approach is to do ditch the electric motor, and do it mechanically:
- http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-create-a-human-powered-bike-blender-for-les/
- http://www.instructables.com/id/DRAFT-Pedal-Powered-BlenderFood-Processor-Belt-/
MIT D-Lab Resources: https://d-lab.mit.edu/resources/learn-it-kits#videos
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