Bio-digester Team (SEED 2012/2014)

 Sustainable Engineering Solutions

 Bio-digester Project

Mt. Hood Community College

Prepared by: Tatcher Jean Pierre, Yessie Rodriguez, Douglas Garcia

 Raquel Granados and Antonio De Leon Ceto

Undergraduate Natural Resources Student

                                       

Submitted to: Shadia Duery

Spring 2014

June 5, 2014

Introduction

The project intent is to create a model of bio-digester in order to decrease the indoor air pollution, improve the locals' heath and provide them another alternative energy source. According to World Health Organization around 3 million people cook and heat their house with wood, over 4 million people pass away from disease and 50 % of pneumonia deaths among children are  attributed to household air pollution from cooking with wood. The introduction of bio-digester in these communities would help to reduce the impacts of these issues.

The bio-digester is going to convert agricultural, animal and kitchen waste from local farms into source of sustainable energy that can meet the daily needs of households in developing countries in Central America and the Caribbean. This project envision the active involvement of the local citizens especially those who are affected directly by the health problem and environmental issues caused by the use of wood for fuel. The materials chosen to build this model of bio-digester are expensive and can be found in from any seller of construction material.

Objectives

●        Helping low-income families to produce their own alternative sustainable energy source while decreasing the volume of wood burned to make fuel.

●        Creating a safe environment for the local citizens

●        Increasing the capacity of compost, managing waste and reducing the greenhouse gas emission.

●       Reducing the volume of waste dumped in the landfill.

●       Raising awareness about the health problem caused by burning wood

Bio-digester’ materials and tools

Here is the list of materials that were used to build the bio-digester. These materials can be purchased from any seller of construction material. These materials cost about $ 80 U.S , and some of them can be found in residential waste.

1.   2 inches x 2ft ABS Pipe

2.   ½ ABS pipe

3.   2 inches ABS Cap Hub

4.   1-1/2 x 1-1 ABS Trap Adapter

5.   1-1/2 inches Sant Tee HXHXH

6.   2 inches ABS Trap Adapter HXSJ

7.   ½ ABS cap Hub

8.   3 meters of clear hose

9.   Poly inserts Tee 1x1

10.   2 ½ Gas Ball FPT

11.   A barrel

12.   1 PVC Glue

13.   2 ½ Flare Union

14.  Burner

15.   Manure

16.   A Saw

17.   Marker

18.   Meter

19.   Screwdriver

Methods

A barrel was taken to make 2 holes one on top and one at the bottom. When the top Hole was done, a trap adapter was placed with an amount of PVC Glue. Ten centimeter long of ABS Pipe 2 inches x 2ft was marked and cut with a saw and put into the top hole, and after that an ABS Cap Hub 2 inches was put.

Hole made at the bottom, after that a 1-1/2x ABS Trap Adapter was placed with PVC Glue.

One 1-1/2 inches ABS Sant Tee HXHXH was put after the 1-1/2x ABS Trap Adapter placement. One piece of ½ 

                   Figure 1: Setting up the trap adapter to the barrel

ABS CAP Hub was placed, and after that an ABS pipe was attached with a surface of the 1-1/2 inches ABS Sant Tee HXHXH with an amount of PVC Glue cement. A small hole was made on top of the barrel to connect 1 ½ Gas Ball FPT with   attached with 2 ½ Flare Union with PVC Glue Cement. 2 meters of clear hose were connected to 1 ½ Gas Ball FPT. One Poly insert Tee 1x1 was connected with the 2 meters clear hose 20 centimeters of clear hose were connected with a 1 ½ Gas Ball FPT. 

30 centimeters of clear hose connected to a Burner and the purpose of connecting the hose to the tire is to storage Methane Gas. 30 Pounds of cattle manure were put inside of the Bio-digester. (Methane) CH₄ will be created during three to four weeks when is done for first time; the percent of Methane that can produce could be about 50% to 65%. When the Bio digester has more than 5 months the gas will be produced faster than before.

Figure 2: Dumping the manure and mix it with water. 

Results:

Apparently the Methane (CH4) was not found in the barrel and we conseder that could happened because of the following observations:

1. Time was not enough for producing the gas. At least needs to be one month for the gas to be produced.
2. Need to have a high temperature for a fast gas production.
3. Need to have a diversity of matter for anaerobic decomposition in a free oxygen environment.
4. Leakage might happen.
5. Excess of water or lack of water.
6. Excess of manure or lack of manure.

Conclusion:

Spending time in group to build a biodigester enriched us with knowledge. We learned how to use local resources, and this is one of the things that we can do back in our communities.  In this project we put in practice all skills we have gained and developed throughout two years at Mt. Hood Community College. Even though our project ended up with no methane, we learned how to build a biodigester and how does it work. For a next time we would take in consideration all the mistakes we made for better results.

References:

1-      World Health Organization, March 2014. Household air pollution and health, Media Centre. [Accessed on June 3, 2014]. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/

2-      Build Bio-digester-(You tube,2013) Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVEZfxGdV5A

Acknowledgment:

·         John Natural Resource Director: for her valuable help, support and providing us with manure.

• Shadia Duery: Instructor and advisor during the implementation of this project.

• Janine Shockle: Advisor and supporter

• Project YESS: Offer greenhouse space

• Building Center (facility): Sell second hand materials with affordable price.

Evolution and Adaptation

                                                         
                                                      Evolution and Adaptation

1) Explain adaptive radiation and how the different paper forms made by “finches” helped or hurt that particular finch species? 

Adaptive Radiation   is the evolution of an ancestral species, which  was adapted to a particular way of life
into many diverse species, each one of them adapted to a different habitat.

Answers corporation, Columbia Encyclopedia 2104. Adaptive radiation ( Internet ). ( Cited March 8, 2014 ) Available online: http://www.answers.com/topic/adaptive-radiation.

Different Paper Form
A study made by Charles Darwin went traveled to Galapagos discovered that the different beaks were adaptations to diets available among the islands.

Darwin

2- With the" prey" survival data you collect, graph survivor ship over time by each species.

3- Explain how behavioral adaptations may lead to genetic changes in a population.


Behavioral Adaptions may lead to generic changes in a population because include activities that help animal survive. Also can be learned or Instinctive. ( a behavior an animal is born with ).

Adaption Web quest , 2014.Structural Behavioral Adaptation ( Internet ). ( Cited March 9, 2104 ) Available online: http://adaptationswebquest.weebly.com/structural-behavioral.html


                1 ) A species that has a physical adaption that may allow its predator not to be able to                       eat it or find it. Explain what this behavioral adaption.

                                                                   Rattlesnake 

 http://www.instantshift.com/2013/02/26/50-perfect-animal-camouflage-photography/

        Rattlesnakes  can camouflage to its environment,  predators like eagles can't see them,                                         even eat them.

                 2) A species that has a physical adaptation that allows it to survive in cold weather.
                                                                 Snowy Owl

                                           http://arcticdesertproject.weebly.com/animals.html

R     The snowy old has the capability of surviving in places where is extremely cold. Theirs beautiful feather helps them to keep their bodies warm  from high temperatures.

            3) A species that has a physical adaption that allows it to survive from its predators.

                                                                                                Armadillo

 http://rapgenius.com/discussions/41430-Top-10-best-animals-of-inside-  the-entire-world

            Armadillo are animals that live in the nature as others, and sometimes they are                                                       attacked by predators, they have a hard shell that protect them from it.

          4) An example of mutualism in nature. Explain what mutualism is in this case

                  http://www.necsi.edu/projects/evolution/co-evolution/mutualistic/co-evolution_mutualistic.html

    In this case the oxpecker land on the zebra and eat ticks and others parasites that live on the skin. The           oxpeckers get their food and the zebra get pest control.

 

5) An example of commensalism in nature. Explain how your picture represents commensalism.

                                                           Squirrel 

                   http://www.glogster.com/munchy99/commensalism-tree-squirrels

 In this picture we see an example of commensalism where the squirrel obtain a benefit in eating the cones of the tree, while the tree doesn't get any damage or benefit from the squirrel.

6) An example of mimicry in nature. Explain what the mimicry is in this case.

                                    

                                       Leaf Mantis Butterfly        

                                                 http://dennisdjones.wordpress.com/

      In this example we see this insect that look like a green leaf but is a an insect.

7) One species from your country ( plant animal insect etc. ) that has an adaption that lets it survive in your country. Explain.

                                                   Geoffrey Spider Monkey

  

                                                                http://en.wikipedia.org/

They consume ripe fruit, and live in the dense forest of Nicaragua and other countries of Central America. This specie of monkey can live in places where it contains between 20 to 42 member of species of monkey. 

Graphing

Graphics Variety

Germination and Productivity

                                                        Lab # 5

                                     Germination and productivity

Question: 

Can plants germinate exposed to light?

Hypothesis: 
Seeds can germinate when are exposed to light

Treatments:
Light and Dark

Procedure:

• 6 * 6 Trays
• Added special soil until the top
• Put water to each of the trays
• Added four seeds of radishes for every tray spot
• Kept them two weeks for seeing seeds germinate

1) What was our control for this experiment?
Germination and Productivity Experiment controlled with seed of radishes exposed to sunlight and dark. Conducted by seeds and dark soil for experimenting the survival and adaptation of Seeds exposed to sunlight.

2 ) What was the percent germination for the light treatment? For the dark treatment?

Light Treatment  

X= 55/144*100

X= 38.19%

Dark Treatment

50/144*100

X= 34.7%

Marmot Dam Trip

                                                                 Lab # 4

                                                             Marmot Dam

First of all, Being outdoors exploring the nature is something that you won’t never forget . I visited  the Marmot Dam and it was one of the most experience that I have ever had . We met a couple of people and there was a guy with a girl. He told us that the Dam was built in 1913 and  destroyed in 2007, since that day the Dam started to be history. Where the Dam was built there were some buildings that were used for power facility that were destroyed as well. An organization called Western Beaver Conservancy  started to work in planting seeds and do some restoration project. There are some invasive plants such as: Scotch Broom and brinca that need to be pulled out before restoring. Also some people did some experiments for knowing what kind of plants can survive, and some trees have four years that have been planted. We were informed that Sandy River has 4 species of fish which are: Chinook, Salmon, Trout, Spring.

Some of us were close where the Dam was built. A study has shown that a million cubic yard of sediments was found in the river. Spooning is upstream lahars, Always there are sediments on the sandy river, people have measured it how much sediment is inside of it, so this process last 3 to 5 years. When I started to cross the bridge I walked very  close where the Dam was located. The bridge has been there since the Dam was built. The place where the Dam was located is surrounded by tall trees such as: Douglas fir, western hemlock, and also shrubs like vine maple, then I went inside of the forest and I saw a lot of woody debris, sword ferns, and a lot of trees with moss and lichen as well.

There was a tree fallen with a diversity of woody debris. The soil surface inside the forest was covered by decomposing material such as: needles from trees that have fallen off and logs as well, and the trees that I saw were filled with a variety of moss. Shadia Duery told us that when there are trees with 1 meter tall and there are others that are smaller can’t grow because all of them are fighting for obtaining sunlight.

A girl that gave us the tour told us that there is a fern called licorice fern which grows on the upper parts of the trees, and it is a different species. Some of us tasted it and was very sweet like sugar cane. Also the gravel  that is along the bottom was formed after the Dam was removed. To me hear about the Dam is something that amazed me, and as I wrote I have learn many things about it.

Marmot Dam Video

Centro Americas's Forest

                                                                 Lab # 3

                                                               

                              Central America's largest forest under siege by colonist.

"Four years ago, people peasants that live in the area of Bosawas have destroyed 150,000 hectares ( 370,000 acres of rain-forest in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, according to the Mayanna and Miskito indigenous people who call this forest their home.  Even though Nicaragua was recognized the land right of the indigenous people in 2007. The tribes say that the government have not done anything to keep it illegal. This is the largest forest in Central America/ The Bosawas  Biosphere Reserve covers around 7 percent of Nicaragua’s land area and is home to several species of wildlife.

Forest have been cut and burned largely to produce part of the reserve into a sort of wild west. Last month a Mayanna community leader was shot dead when an indigenous scouting party found that illegal settlers clearing forest.

Peasants have called for land reform, but the land in question is already held by indigenous groups. 
Bosawas Biosphere Reserve covers around 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) on the border of Nicaragua and Honduras. It is believed to be home to some of the largest populations of jaguars, giant anteaters, pumas, Harpy eagles, and tapirs in Central America. Researchers estimate that the park is home to some 150,000 insect species and 600 species of birds."(Jeremy Hance, 2103)

 I am interested in this topic because is a rain forest of Nicaragua and it is very important , and now some areas of it have been deforested.

Jeremy Hance, Central America's Largest Forest under siege by colonist. 2013 available on 

http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0506-hance-bosawas.html

Cattle in Bosawás Biosphere Reserve. Photo courtesy of: Independent Mayangna Nation of Nicaragua. 
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0506-hance-bosawas.html#UwidxVuiweTH2JG5.99

        Indigenous, Colonist, and Government Impacts on Nicaragua's Bosawas Reserve

"A study was made in Bosawas Nicaragua about the impact colonist which are two groups of indigenous residents. The groups consist  Miskitu and Mayanna managed by Marena Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources on the international Biosphere reserve of Bosawas, the groups subsist on the natural resources of Bosawas and is the responsible in protecting the area from deforestation . By using geostatical procedures and land slat images at three different times they have compared the deforestation and boundaries stabilization in areas with colonist and areas with indigenous people. They also have examined that the Mayanna was less deforested  than the Miskitu even though the government has defended the Bosawas boundary against the advance of the agricultural frontier. They also have analyzed the distribution of land uses between the reserve and the indigenous area and a supervision of the classification. The indigenous demarcations protected the forest successfully, the Bosawas boundary didn't inhibit the colonization and consequent deforestation. Also the indigenous farmers deforested the areas but less than the colonist, and the two groups Bosawas didn't differ their effect on the forest. The results shows that indigenous common-property institution, and the indigenous of homeland have been factor very powerful that protects Bosawas and that the difficult evolution of a nested cross-scale governance system in Bosawas and under pressure from indigenous people is probably the key to the forest survival." ( STOCKS, A., McMAHAN, B. and TABER, P. (2007).

Methods

Investigators used geostatical procedures and land slat images at three different times to compare the deforestation and boundaries stabilization in areas with colonist and areas with indigenous people

Results

The results shows indigenous common- properly institution and the indigenous of homeland have a been a powerful factor to protects Bosawas.

Conclusion

Investigators have realized that cross-scale governance system in Bosawas is the key to the forest survival.

 Citation

STOCKS, A., McMAHAN, B. and TABER, P. (2007), Indigenous, Colonist, and Government Impacts on Nicaragua's Bosawas Reserve. Conservation Biology,  vol 21, Available online http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00793.x/abstract

Tropical Ecology

                                                         

                                                                   Lab # 2
                                                          Tropical Ecology
                                                   
1) Something that excites me about the tropical ecology class is that I start to learn about the  Biome that I live, which is a tropical rain forest. 

2) One of the environmental issues in my community is the deforestation, which  affects the nature in many different ways where is very difficult to recuperate the amount of trees that have been cut. 

3) First of all, I would like to start working with people from my community in education, reforestation. Also, It will be helpful the experience that I have accomplished  such us : working in teams, and with people  from different ages and background as well.

4) This video will show you about the Ecology of Nicaragua. This makes Nicaragua and ideal place to discover and enjoy the diversity of nature that surround it.

5)This link will show you about the Flora and Fauna of Nicaragua.
Click here Flora y Fauna of Nicaragua