Project Summary | Project Information |
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For an updated project description, click on the following link for the Project Readiness Package. Spirulina is a blue-green algae with nutritional content including protein, micronutrients, zinc, iron, GLA, chlorophyll, phycocyanins, and omega-3 fatty acids. Its high nutritional density makes it a treatment for malnutrition in women, children, and adolescent girls. Currently, Spirulina is grown by small, low-tech farms that sell 80% of what they produce to subsidize Spirulina for the local community due to high production costs. There is a greater demand for Spirulina than what can be currently provided to the local community. Quality is also a concern as contamination, moisture, and nutritional content are not consistent. The goal of this project is to analyze and improve the current cultivation process so that it can be implemented in the farms in India. Deliverables include a tested prototype, economic analysis of the improved system, confirmation of product quality, and standard operating procedures for implementation. The proposed solution should minimize manual labor, electricity consumption, and maintain or improve Spirulina quality. If you would like to learn more about the current production process of Spirulina, please see '''Sustainable Approaches to Combat Malnutrition''' by Urs Heierli |
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Final Design
The team's final broom and tank design can be seen below. More information about the designs and the final suggested media composition can be found in the System Verification page.With the final broom and tank design the amount of labor needed to agitate the tank decreased from 12 workers to 4. This means there is a reduction of annual labor cost from 195,840 Rupees for 10 months to 65,280 Rupees. This translates to a reduction of 75.56 Rupees per kg of Spirulina produced. The new media formulation including the Cow Dung Ash would decrease the cost of media by 20%. The current media cost shown in the "Sustainable Approaches to Combat Malnutrition" paper states that the cost of nutrients us 24,000 Rupees for 10 months. This means the reduced cost would be 19,200 Rupees for 10 months.
Team Members
Member | Major | Role | Contact |
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Joseph Majo | Industrial Engineer | Project Manager | jmm2095@rit.edu |
Dana Fisk | Mechanical Engineer | Technical Coordinator | dnf2003@rit.edu |
Camila Gomez-Serrano | Mechanical Engineer | Technical Coordinator | cag1729@rit.edu |
Jordan Russ | Biomedical Engineer | Customer Liaison | jmr1649@rit.edu |
Bethany Davis | Industrial Engineer | Process Coordinator | bld1190@rit.edu |
MSD I Table of Contents
MSD II Table of Contents
Build & Test Prep | Subsystem Build & Test | Integrated System Build & Test | System Validation | System Verification | Final Review |
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Imagine RIT and other Deliverables |
Acknowledgements
- RIT
- Sarah Brownell for guidance and support
- Jeff Lodge
- Mr. David Lake
- Dr. Paul Craig
- Mr. David Kozlowski
- Prof. Scott Wolcott
- Ms. Judith Foster
- Antenna Nutritech Foundation
Home | Planning & Execution | Imagine RIT
Problem Definition | Systems Design | Subsystem Design | Detailed Design | Complete Design |
Build & Test Prep | Subsystem Build & Test | Integrated System Build & Test | Integrated System Build & Test with Customer Demo | Customer Handoff & Final Project Documentation |