After the destruction of the original prototype and with all the leaking problems, we decided to change our material of construction and use metal instead. The metal would be welded together and would hence eliminate the problem of leaking. Moreover, the metal would definitely be able to withstand the 60oC of heating brought about at the aerobic stage.
The metal used was taken from an old cabinet and some of the valves and pipes were re-used from the old prototype. The air pump and the heater was dismantled and re-used.
The metal prototype was completed in about a week.
Fig1. Using scrap metal, our prototype was built
Fig2. The top of our metal prototype
Fig3. The separating portion between the two stages
Fig4. The completed prototype at SVF
Due to the burnt prototype, our aerobic digestion stage was being unroutinely interrupted. We did the next best thing by salvaging the remains of the aerobic stage, use a water bath as a heating component and use another pump to perform the bubbling as a form of mixing. This process was done for an hour before we tested the aerobic mixture.
Fig5. Air Pump
Fig6. Aerobic sludge solution in the water bath
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