The Greengineers developed a prototype biomass breeder to test the toxicity of influent water for Hilmar Cheese Company's water reclamation system. The prototype was designed to mimic key aspects of Hilmar's system, including continuous flow, steady-state conditions, and rapid toxin detection. It allows Hilmar to process water at full capacity without risk of impairing anaerobic bacteria. The Greengineers successfully created an anaerobic biogas bioreactor that measures parameters in real-time, instantly alerting operators if incoming water cannot be recycled so Hilmar can take measures to treat unrecyclable water and maximize water reclamation.

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
• Overall, the Greengineers’ have successfully created an anaerobic
biogas bioreactor that can be implemented with Hilmar Cheese
Co.’s water reclamation system to improve the total percent of
water recycled. Using Arduino, the team measures real time
parameters as seen in the graphs above. By measuring in real
time, the team can be instantaneously alerted when incoming water
cannot be recycled. Therefore, Hilmar can take proactive measures
to treat the unrecyclable water; ultimately reclaiming a higher
percentage of water to save resources and money.
Bioreactor Design