Welcome!

You have arrived at the web page for Senior Design Project Team 11. Our team is dedicated to the design of a system which couples the existing Trigeneration system to algae photobioreactors in order to reduce carbon emissions and provide an efficient means of producing biofuel from what would be otherwise expelled exhaust gasses. We are excited to help develop this technology, as the benefits are far-reaching and the rewards great!

As of March, 2012, the final concept has been implemented with great success. The coupling system draws large volumes of exhaust from the trigeneration unit for use in the bioreactor array. Furthermore, experimentation using our system shows that Chlorella and Scenedesmus algae strains are capable of thriving in an environment subjected to exhaust gasses.

Gallery

The photobioreactor system at UFPR in Brazil

A photobioreactor at UFPR with live algae growth

The trigenerator as given to Team 11- it was in need of serious repairs

The trigen in disorder- as given to Team 11

The old exhaust system- notice the old corroded exhaust piping

The rear of the absorption refrigerator- much of this piping has now been replaced

The lower tier of the trigen- also in disorder

Inside of the water tank- notice the copper-colored pump used to circulate water through the heat exchanger

Final trigen exhaust outlet- the gasses are harnessed from this point

The bench top airlift photobioreactor system as given to Team 11

Lower portion of photobioreactors- notice the mass of dead algae clogging the bottom of the reactors

Gas diffuser- air, carbon dioxide or exhaust gasses can be passed through a membrane inside the diffuser for complete dissolution in the algae growth medium

Upper portion of photobioreactors- notice the microcontroller system

Close-up of the photobioreactor control system

The reactor control system power unit- outlets are controlled by solid state and electromechanical relays

Disassembling the top of the heat exchanger to begin exhaust system reconstruction

Top of heat exchanger- ready for new exhaust system installation

Algae must be killed before disposal by addition of iodine solution- otherwise, any living cells could pose a risk to the local biome if released

Close-up of iodine solution doing its job

All tubes with algae growth must be washed in iodine solution

Algae cultures prepared for bulk substrate

One of the new photobioreactors- more were necessary to carry out experimentation

The repaired steel exhaust circuit- refrigeration portion

A schematic representation of the coupling system

The PVC exhuast fitting. This component contains the filter and the condensation drain

The coupling system housing unit during construction

The housing unit with air and water pumps mounted

The gallery is organized in chronological order. Photos begin with pictures from UFPR, then the trigenerator & photobioreactor systems as received from FSU. As you move forward through the images, you will see the progression from the old systems in disrepair to the overhauled, redesigned systems as used in the final product. Click on the "i" in the top, left-hand corner of the gallery window to toggle image captions.

Documentation

Provided below are the documents submitted heretofore. WARNING: These documents can be quite large.