Unlocking the Potential of Algae: A Journey into Photobioreactor Technology
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 พ.ย. 2023
- An in-depth look at photobioreactor technology and its role in algae cultivation. Learn about the innovative design and automation systems behind this advanced farming method, ensuring precise control and optimized growth.
- วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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Thanks you all for the great feedback and recommendations. I set up an inbox if you want to contact me directly regarding this project: rafik.photobioreactor@gmail.com
As for an interim update on this projects since I posted the video here is what I have accomplished:
1. I completed building a much larger 64L reactor that has improved on this design tremendously
2. I scrapped the old control system and am currently building on top of another project running on a raspberry pi (more details to come)
3. Implemented a software filter to clean up data and calculate growth rates
4. Built 2 custom optical density sensors based on absorbance and diffuse reflectance respectively
While I did promise in this video to release some subsequent videos detailing some additional details, I will not be doing that right now. I am currently focused on the new system's development and video production would take away from that at this time. Instead I will work on getting a second video out about my progress detailing some of the items listed above.
I am looking for others with the skills and experience to make the commercial system a reality so if you believe you can help in some capacity don't hesitate to contact me using the inbox above.
There is still lots to explore so your patience is appreciated, let me cook.
Hey Rafik,
Im also an engineer and am currently looking to do something similar.
You said something about a pump destroying the algea? Where did you read this? Im actually using a centrifugal pump without any issues?
Also we should really talk regarding the control setup. Ive been where you are with the esp and then the raspberry pi. But trust me thats so difficult and time consuming.
@@renederen2696 check out Handbook of Microalgal Culture by Amos Richmond, few references of research abt damage caused by centrifugal pumps stunting growth. I am very happy with my control system now. Shoot me an email ^
Turbidity sensors in industry tend to have debubblers and light excluders as well as a water jet or self cleaning setup. Would be happy to send you some beefier sensors that have that feature if you keep getting the sensor issues.
Thank you for the feedback. I dont know enough about these sensors yet. Would you be able to recommend a company or a model for these sensors I could look at.
Please upload more! Currently, I'm a nuclear operator and don't have time to build this myself, but I'm extremely interested in doing so within a couple of years. Your progress and videos would be a wonderful reservoir of information for me to have at my disposal and I'd greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much for sharing your project!!! I've been ruminating on the idea of a large tank with LED lights inside of hollow tubes spaced a few inches apart so as to ensure even lighting in the medium. What do you think of it? Again, I don't have any practical experience with this, so take my idea with a grain of salt! Cannot wait to see more!
I have the same thought but it increase the electricity cost.... I have another idea if we put acrylic tube in the mixture (not hollow tube) and the outer surface is diffued, apply led or light source from the tip of that acrylic tube, by this way it will illuminate like a tube light in water. By this way we can save electricity cost...
I don't know if it will work or not but just have a thought.
Amazing step by step explanation of the process, including potential faults! Keep up the great work!
Nice work. Couple of moments regarding design of this system.
Usially problem with low speed in down part of the loop is solved with high airflow(up to ~0,5 volume of air per volume of system per minute) and/or having down tube of smaller diameter than up tube.
While your solution solves problem with algae buildup it further reduces efficiency of water circulation, as main driving force is density differential between up/down parts of the loop and usually you want to have down part with as little air bubbles as possible.
This is great work from someone with professional problem solving skills. Hopefully the algorithm picks up on you soon. Nice job.
Can you uploud your cad models? Love the video
I love how you've overcome some of the engineering obstacles associated with a project like this.
For a bacterial and fungal contamination check, I think your best bet is a microbiological approach with agar plates and plate streaking looking for colony growth. I don't think it's something you yourself would need to do because it takes a handful of dedicated equipment- incubator, agar, Luria broth, plates.
Your closed system allows for a high degree of control of input, which is great for sterility. You might consider experimenting with UV irradiation of input fluid.
Hey, interesting project, would like to create something like that myself. Thanks for sharing and the data you gathered, am looking forward for an update!
Really cool project. I need to find some of this clear vacuum pipe!
Edit: They are sold at Home Depot, I had no idea.
Now if you used electrochemical plates to separate co2 from the air and contain it for use in the photo bioreactor. It may produce faster and greater yields.
This is awesome, well done! I wonder what kind of further growth you could get by injecting CO2 instead of just outside air? It would be interesting to look at that concentration in the air before on injection and after it bubbles out.
Dude! This is awesome! I think that you should patent this thing!❤😊
Thanks for sharing ❤️This was in depth and informative ❤ Looking to grow food to my fish hobby.
Algae-daphnia-fish or algae-brine shrimp-
fish.
Amazing! Would love to see updates as you learn and discover new things!
Fantastic video! Growing algae is such an innovative and sustainable way to contribute to our environment. I loved the step-by-step process you shared here; it's both informative and inspiring. Keep up the great work! 🌿💧 #Sustainability #AlgaeGrowth
Great video Rafik! Seeing the iterations in design was my favorite part throughout this project. Keep up the diligent work!
The topic is very clearly explained and the video is organized well and easy to follow. Great work! Waiting for V2.
Cool project. I will be looking forward to the next step.
Epic project with some very interesting implications! Amazing work and a great video
awesome work am super interested in this and have been wanting to build one for ages love all the data you collected. keep it up!
Im incredibly interested in making these so thank you for posting your results
Absolutely fantastic.
A density monitor that self-cleaned, and ideally didn't need to remove algae from the grow chamber, would be an excellent next step.
Also, we really need to grow spirulina on carbon from the atmosphere, not from dissolved minerals in the grow medium. I've seen references to growing it in lye solution, which alkalinises the medium without adding carbonate, but I haven't been able to find any reports of how well this works. Thoughts?
It is really very interesting what you have taught me. Applause!! Brilliant!!
Great video and project
I have been researching random algae and bacteria that can have the potential to breakdown different plastics. This may be a great way to cultivate the algae species for breaking down these plastics en masse. Awesome project my man.
Fantastic video, keep up with the good work!
Amazing work!
Thanks for this video. This is really interesting. Please post continuations and details.
Keep the algae content coming!! 💚
I look forward to seeing the coding side of the project and the next steps you take. I plan on building a small system to grow feed for animals, which could be an automated section that presses the algae into pellets.
This project is awesome, Rafik.
In time I think this may be what I want to do. You did a good job making that all yourself. I wish I could do all that to prove its functionality before implementing in the community. Algae can also be used for bio plastics, it may also be the most powerful co2 capture as a plant based solution. 👍
This is dope, congrats on the bioreactpr
very cool, I am interested to see more.
wrap the led side in mylar or other high reflectivity material to contain the light inside the reactor and increase efficiency?
Great project well explained. One thing about purity checking under the microscope: you can see the fairly big algae but it may be difficult to spot bacteria. If you stay with the microscope there is a technique called "oil immersion" to increase the resolution. Also the samples can be dried and stained. Not sure what specific species of bacteria survive at pH 10, but I am sure unless Spirulina produces some bacteriostatic compounds you should find some. Other than that what needs to be investigated are cyanobacteria with a potential to produce toxins.
Awesome, keep it up!
For a bigger better clear tubes, look for replacement quarts tubes used in outdoor propane heaters. They’re 4-5” diameter, around 60” long and reasonable price.
Consider using sunlight to feed the energy during the day, the intensity will be waaay higher than the led strip. You could use reflective Mylar film to form a ‘solar oven’ parabolic shape, on the side opposite the sun, so increase the intensity further, and hit all sides of the tube evenly.
Strong work my man
Excellent project! Very interesting topic with a well executed inexpensive construction.
Consider the following in no particular order:
- Use socket head cap screws instead of philips head
- Increase o-ring cross section diameter and possibly reduce durometer
- Increase cap to pipe clearance
- Add drain valve to bottom coupling
- For finer more well distributed bubbles; increase pump pressure and decrease
orifice size in coupler
- +1 to RedMavis on the reflective wrap around the LEDs
- Space the diode strip away from the pipe surface a little
- Record temperature in reactor
- Integrate sampling and dilution ports into coupling
- Orient the turbidity sensor vertically at the bottom of a small free surface reservoir with a removable cap
This will facilitate easy cleaning of the turbidity sensor with a pipe brush
- Use a tee instead of an elbow above the LEDs for cleaning access
Again, excellent work! Let us know how quickly the system fouls.
Rock on!
Thanks for all the great recommendations. I'm already working on a couple of these. In terms of fouling system is still running with minimal fouling on the elbows (they are quite sharp turns) and I switched the flow direction by swapping the airflow. Seems like the straight pipes are still clean.
Great idea as well as the video itself!
Would love to see more.
What if I would like to follow the project and build something similar, are you willing to open source the project?
My comments were deleted by TH-cam! Uggg, Great project, I worry about the use of the roller pump killing or damaging the organism each time it samples. Having built a bioreactor in the past your approach is a solid one. Look forward to seeing more!
Thanks for the feedback! I chose the peristaltic/roller pump as a lesser evil compared to a pump with an impellor. The good news is that the contact area between the bearings and the housing is small compared to the volume moved so damage should be minimal. At this point, I'd rather have the sensor built in to the system to remove the sampling requirement all together but that would come with its own set of challenges
Cool project and you can use Taguchi array to test 2 ideas at once!
Hello máster.Another microalgae such as tetraselmis or chaetoceros where you use a small CO2 tank. You are fantastic at explaining
Very cool
Absolutely brilliant. I'm really looking forward to the next episode. I once found a large string of algae that had grown in the light of a water treatment turbidimeter, so it seems almost inevitable that you're going to have false positives with external turbidimeters here. Perhaps you could find a frequency that can't be used for photosynthesis..?
Thank you! I agree that external monitoring isn't ideal. Working on integrating it into the reactor. Turbidity meter uses infrared light. Fouling will occur regardless of growth. I am following along on the amybo project as well.
What about running a longer loop? Something that snakes up and down. How are you processing the collected algae?
Not a lot of views (yet) so i feel obliged to comment:
very nice project! Clearly explained.
Interested to see how you will do the self cleaning, does that also include the light absorbing sensor?
Brainstormed some ideas for self-cleaning. The benefit of this system is if you get the airflow and geometry right to maintain constant flow, it prevents most build-up. The sensor cleaning is at the top of the list right now as it is a single point of vulnerability
Hey Rafik, I have watched this a few times now. Well done. I want to print the whole thing. what kind of filament did you use? Also are you interested in sharing your designs... I do not have a background in engineering. Thanks
Great video. Where abouts are you located? I would love to discuss this more with you.
Thank you. You can reach out via email in pinned comment
Is there a reason you do one variable and not a design of experiments?
Good question. In theory, testing one variable at a time should give a clearer image of its impact. This does come at a time cost, especially since I only have 1 reactor at this time. Recently learned about the Taguchi array from this video and will definitely try it out: th-cam.com/video/5oULEuOoRd0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gN1phmRTl06hpRNj
@@rafik.nassif Awesome. DOE also would allow you to efficiently test for factor interactions and test for polynomial responses which seems to be the case for your light input. Glad you’re planning on exploring it. Good luck!
nice spirulina slides!! I eat spirulina every night.
How to produce oxygen from this
Nice work bro , grow some penicillin
Should be able to grow any algae in this type of system. I wonder what type of algae can grow penecilin and what conditions does it thrive in
Chlorella - Antibiotic (Chlorellin ) Can't do penicillin
Ah "easy to buy a live culture from other grower" - fascinating!! how easy? details please. Maxigro! I only see Maxigro plant food - not live culture?
Why vertically? Horizontally ra easier totranposrt? Hmm
Ah bubbles prefer vertixal setup, other ways ofnsing that ron?!?
if you use chlorella instead of spirulina couldn't you just use a water pump to move it because the cells are way smaller? Thats what codys lab did.
And he is dead
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