About the remote version of ChE130.
For the Spring 2021 remote version of ChE130, you will each design, build, and test a proof-of-concept photobioreactor to grow spirulina.
After an introduction to the topic during Week 1 of the course, each following week you will begin work on a different attribute of the bioreactor, where you will ideate, evaluate, and select supplies to purchase. You will make decisions about the container/reactor, microcontroller type, turbidity measurement, pH measurement, light source, and possibly one or more of temperature measurement, dissolved oxygen measurement, light intensity measurement, dissolved carbon dioxide measurement, liquid circulation, temperature control, pH control, oxygen control, etc. You will each have a budget of $650.
In parallel, you will grow and maintain a mother culture of Spirulina.
After you select supplies to purchase, the vendor will ship them directly to you, wherever you may be learning remotely. After receiving supplies, you will test the items on a development platform so that you can troubleshoot them before integrating the sensor or stimulus into your photobioreactor setup.
Each week on Wednesday, I will publish a document with objectives for the week, because in the middle of term you might be doing multiple tasks in parallel. For instance, you might be deciding on a temperature sensor, while learning how to use the microcontroller to control lights and collecting pH and turbidity data from your photobioreactor.
All course materials can be found on Canvas.