Robotguy
11-17-2009, 03:21 AM
I started perusing these forums for inspiration on my latest project, and boy did I get inspired. The projects here are so great, I just had to get started. I thought I would post a few pics of my project.
First a bit of background. I was researching types of houseplants to replace the Spider Plant from my office that I just killed and discovered that algae is much more efficient at converting CO2 to O2. Half an hour worth of netsurfing later, I decided to build a photobioreactor (http://www.algaegeek.com/). I combined this with several other projects on my "someday" list, hoping to increase my chances of completion; my WRT54G (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openwrt) needed a reason to live, I wanted to build something steampunk (Filimon is my new hero), and a friend at work gave me a couple of nice size solar panels . This should be quite the "green" project...
I have started some building, but here's a quick look at some of my materials:
(click on the thumbnail to see larger images)
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Case.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Case.JPG)
The case. Yes, it's an urn. No, there wasn't anyone in it when I got it from the thrift store...
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Inside.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Inside.JPG)
Here's the inside of the case. The LCD is a 24x8 serial display from PJRC (http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html).
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Tank.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Tank.JPG)
The algae tank. It's 1/4" acrylic sandwiched across some polypropylene with an o-ring groove. I work for a company that does subsea robotics, so the o-ring seal just seemed the right way to go.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Air_2.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Air_2.JPG)http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Air_1.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Air_1.JPG)
Here are some parts I put together to make what I'm calling the bubble pump (Wikipedia calls it an airlift pump (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlift_pump)). The theory is that the rising air from the air stone will lift some of the water along with it. Initial prototyping doesn't look good, so I may need to rethink this. I machined the brass hex stock, added o-ring grooves (the o-ring kit from AS&S* is finally coming in handy). The glass is a Pyrex test tube (again surplus, from the local university) cut with a Dremel and a cutting disk. There will be two of these pumps, one on each side.
*If you haven't seen American Science & Surplus (http://www.sciplus.com/), check it out. My guess is that most people here would dig the place.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_1.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_1.JPG)
The nifty spiral thingamabobs are candle holders from Ikea. I sealed the ends of the spiral tubes with epoxy putty, then drilled and tapped them for the fittings. If all works out, the water/algae mix will flow out the bottom of the rectangular tank, through the bubble pumps, up the spirals and back into the tank.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Sketch.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Sketch.JPG)http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Bellows.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Bellows.JPG)
Here's a sketch of my idea for an air pump and a pic of one of the bellows I found for it. The machinery will be brass and powered by a fake steam piston, which is actually a hacked together linear actuator powered by a stepper motor from an old floppy drive read head. I'll post a pic when I find that darned thing. I know it's here in the lab somewhere....
First a bit of background. I was researching types of houseplants to replace the Spider Plant from my office that I just killed and discovered that algae is much more efficient at converting CO2 to O2. Half an hour worth of netsurfing later, I decided to build a photobioreactor (http://www.algaegeek.com/). I combined this with several other projects on my "someday" list, hoping to increase my chances of completion; my WRT54G (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openwrt) needed a reason to live, I wanted to build something steampunk (Filimon is my new hero), and a friend at work gave me a couple of nice size solar panels . This should be quite the "green" project...
I have started some building, but here's a quick look at some of my materials:
(click on the thumbnail to see larger images)
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Case.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Case.JPG)
The case. Yes, it's an urn. No, there wasn't anyone in it when I got it from the thrift store...
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Inside.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Inside.JPG)
Here's the inside of the case. The LCD is a 24x8 serial display from PJRC (http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html).
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Tank.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Tank.JPG)
The algae tank. It's 1/4" acrylic sandwiched across some polypropylene with an o-ring groove. I work for a company that does subsea robotics, so the o-ring seal just seemed the right way to go.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Air_2.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Air_2.JPG)http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Air_1.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Air_1.JPG)
Here are some parts I put together to make what I'm calling the bubble pump (Wikipedia calls it an airlift pump (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlift_pump)). The theory is that the rising air from the air stone will lift some of the water along with it. Initial prototyping doesn't look good, so I may need to rethink this. I machined the brass hex stock, added o-ring grooves (the o-ring kit from AS&S* is finally coming in handy). The glass is a Pyrex test tube (again surplus, from the local university) cut with a Dremel and a cutting disk. There will be two of these pumps, one on each side.
*If you haven't seen American Science & Surplus (http://www.sciplus.com/), check it out. My guess is that most people here would dig the place.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_1.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_1.JPG)
The nifty spiral thingamabobs are candle holders from Ikea. I sealed the ends of the spiral tubes with epoxy putty, then drilled and tapped them for the fittings. If all works out, the water/algae mix will flow out the bottom of the rectangular tank, through the bubble pumps, up the spirals and back into the tank.
http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Sketch.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Sketch.JPG)http://robotguy.net/PBR/tn_PBR_Bellows.JPG (http://robotguy.net/PBR/PBR_Bellows.JPG)
Here's a sketch of my idea for an air pump and a pic of one of the bellows I found for it. The machinery will be brass and powered by a fake steam piston, which is actually a hacked together linear actuator powered by a stepper motor from an old floppy drive read head. I'll post a pic when I find that darned thing. I know it's here in the lab somewhere....