1. The Greengineers
Capstone Design | Hilmar Cheese Co. | UC Merced
Mission Statement
To improve Hilmar Cheese Company’s
existing water reclamation system by
implementing a biomass breeder that
measures the toxicity of the influent water
to achieve maximum efficiency for the
reclamation of water and collection of
natural gas.
Project Overview
The Greengineers developed an integrative
method of testing the potential harm that
Hilmar Cheese Co.’s influent water may
have on the anaerobic bacteria. This would
allow the company to continue processing
their water at full capacity without the
possibility of impairing the bacteria. In order
to do this, the team needed to design a
prototype that mimics certain aspects of the
company’s water management system such
as a continuous flow system, the capability
to reach steady-state conditions, and the
rapid detection of toxins in the system.
Demands
Continuous Flow
• The system
must be able to
maintain a
constant inlet
and outlet flow
rate of water.
Steady-State
• The
concentration
of nutrients in
the water must
be constant.
• The
subsequent
gas production
must become
constant.
Toxin Detection
• The ability to
detect the
presence of
toxins quickly
allows safety
measures to
be taken to
prevent halting
productivity.
Prototype Design
Design Process
Research
and Testing
of Bacteria
Step 1
Design and
Assembly of
Prototype
Step 2
Create
steady state
environment
Step 3
Introduction
of Toxins
Step 4
Results
Conclusion
The Greengineers have successfully created an anaerobic
bioreactor that can be implemented into Hilmar Cheese
Co.’s water reclamation system to increase the total
percent of water recycled. Using an Arduino, the team
measured real time gas flow as seen in the graphs above.
By measuring instantaneous gas production, the team can
be alerted immediately when incoming water is too harmful
for the bacteria. Therefore, Hilmar can take proactive
measures to treat the unrecyclable water; ultimately
reclaiming a higher percentage of water while saving
resources and money.
Bioreactor Design
Figure 1: Steady-State conditions over a 3 day test period. Consistent
gas flow indicated the bacteria are healthy.
Figure 2: Injection of toxin during steady state. Toxin presence was
apparent after 6 minutes. Values reached 0 after about 21 minutes.
Inlet Outlet
Reactor
Zoheb Mohammed – Haley Parker – Fikre Mekonnen – Luis Ramos – Paul Tran