Chapter 2: Brainstorming and Idea Selection!
- Rakshan Bathri
- May 25, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 17, 2024
Chapter 2.1: Recap
what did I talk about previously?
Welcome back to my blog❗ In the previous blog, I left off with an idea of a chemical product that my group had chosen, to address an UNSDG. (UNSDG 13 btw)
Q: "WAITT, I forgot what you were talking about😥😥"
A: That's the purpose of this section❗ So, our chemical product was an Algae Bioreactor. (It's something like a Jarrarium where you just grow algae inside of it) Why algae❓ Because when animals🐄 are fed algae, they produce lesser methane and animals produce a lot of it. (where does the methane gas come from? umm take a wild guess...💩)
In case you forgot, Methane is a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming as it's good at trapping heat🔥. Agricultural processes, such as Cattle Farming👩🌾, produce A LOT of methane. So, by feeding these cattle Algae, we are essentially reducing the amount of methane produced, which reduces the amount of greenhouse gases present, which then contributes towards achieving UNSDG 13: Climate Action❗ (okay that should be all I think)
Chapter 2.2.1: Brainstorming with MIRO!
MILO wait no MIRO TIME!
What will the algae bioreactor look like?
Well, that's when my group and I starting brainstorming using the MIRO Software to generate some ideas on how our algae bioreactor would look like❗
Q: "What's a Miro❓❓"
A: Honestly, idk what's a MIRO but it's just a website where you can place post it notes on a dashboard looking thing to jot down our ideas📝.
Each member in the group had to think of at least 5 different ideas of an algae bioreactor. Unlike other groups, our group already had a rough idea on how the bioreactor was going to look like❗ (that's mostly because there are VERY limited options). To briefly describe the design of our algae bioreactor, it's made out of 4 tubes, connected in a loop. Sounds simple right❓ But it's actually not❗ We still need to think of how the algae will get transported around the tube and also how it will receive sunlight🌞, air💨 etc. (factors that make algae grow) That's when MIRO comes in place❗❗
As you can see from the board👆, there are A LOT of ideas💡. At first, we couldn't really think of anything as we had the monday blues and were also tired🥱🥱 But we still had to get the ball rolling somehow so we had to wake up our ideas🌅 (literally) We focused on what algae needs to grow followed by how the grown algae can be "better" and lastly, what parts we can add to the loop so that we can achieve this❗ (and of course how to collect it as well) Even though it took some time, eventually we got the 25 ideas that we needed. Honestly, it was fun😁 for me because I could start letting my imagination take over and show others the CREATIVE side of me❗❗ (I was yapping...) Unfortunately, we couldn't use all the ideas (obviously) so we had to sieve out the best 5.
Chapter 2.2.2: Screening Our Ideas
how do we select the best 5?
Feasibility Analysis! (woah big words)
Since we could only use a fifth of the ideas generated, we had to choose the best of the best🤯, (like what I said earlier) and to do this, we had to judge the feasibility of each idea...(this took too long) Fortunately, we had the aid of a template to judge each idea with 4 considerations❗❗
Q: "what were the 4 considerations in the template❓"
A: The 4 considerations were:
Budget🤑- Is it less than $2000?
Time⌛- Can the chemical product be completed within the time frame given? (2nd semester of year 2)
Technical Aspect👩💻: Do we have the required technology and materials to build it?
Operational Aspect💪: Do we have enough manpower for the project? + Is it Safe and Legal?
In my opinion, I think that the 4 considerations were extremely useful in helping to sieve out our ideas, especially the Technical Aspect because some of our ideas were honestly🤔🤔 (like what is a parastaltic pump??)
As you can see above, in this idea, we used bubblers💦 to move the algae and water around the loop. In others, we included air vents to prevent pressure buildup, discharge valves to collect the algae and even a turbidity sensor which can be programmed by using Arduino🖥 to indicate when the algae is ready to collect❗❗ (sounds complicated right? But apparently it's quite easy...which was what I was told) I would talk about the unsuccessful ones, but theres 20😞...so lets move on to the FINAL idea selection (time to get rid of another 4 😭)
Chapter 2.2.3: COWS Decision Matrix
moooo moo mooo moo?
Our Final Algae Bioreactor❗ Since we can only make 1 algae bioreactor, it has to be best of the best of the best. To obtain do that, we had to utilise the COWS Decision Matrix🐄🐄.
C- Criteria O- Options W- Weighting S- Score
Q: "What is the COWS Decision Matrix?"
A: Its just a chart/table with the requirements and criteria on one axis and the different ideas on the other.
To construct the chart, we first had to decide on 5 appropriate Criteria with an associated weightage. The criteria that we chose were:
Cost Effectiveness (15%):
Cost effectiveness🤑 was selected because some of the ideas include some additional parts to the product so, it will cost more to manufacture the product. (we don't want to be breaking our banks right?)
The ideas that incorporate an additional item, like a bubbler💦, are still not too expensive to build because the additional part won't cost much, therefore cost effectiveness is weighed at 15%. Furthermore, our product's primary goal is not affordability but rather assisting in the reduction of methane emissions.
Ease of Manufacturing (20%):
Ease of manufacturing🔨 was selected because some of the ideas do not require the use of computer software such as Arduino so, it will be easier to manufacture the product. (we're not Mr Maker yet)
Since some of the ideas call for the use of computer software, such as Arduino💻 or an automated discharge system, ease of production weighs 20% because it would be more difficult and will take a longer period of time to create the product. It would be preferable if the product was simple to produce in order to create prototypes.
Positive Impact on Algae (30%):
Positive impact on algae (I can't find an emoji) was selected because some of the ideas include the use of baking soda that improve and increase algae growth as, algae grows faster in higher pH. This is actually our most important factor❗❗
The greatest weight, 30% goes to having a positive impact on algae since the primary objective of the chemical product is to reduce methane production, and healthy algae that are rich in the necessary enzymes are needed in order for the algae to have a significant impact.
Product Durability (20%) :
Product durability💪 was selected because some of the ideas include using airline tubing for the transportation of the algae. Even though airline tubing is flexible, kinks may form, unlike for acrylic tubing. When kinks form, there can be potential damage to the tubing itself such as tear, holes etc.
Product durability is 20% because certain designs may not be as stable as others, making them more prone to damage. In cases when there is a greater probability of product damage, the cost of repair may increase💵, leading to further difficulty👎.
Ease of Repair (15%):
Ease of repair🔨 was selected because in case the product is damaged, for example, if there is a crack in the tubes causing leakage, it would need to be easily repaired to prevent the loss of algae. (pretty self explanatory)
Because the various components of the product can be disassembled, ease of repair receives a 15% weight. Some parts need to be disassembled in order to possibly replace broken parts or do maintenance checks.
Next, we had to list down the 5 options (ideas) that we had, before we can choose the ✨best✨ one. However, it's superrr wordy so I'll summarise it for you:
Idea 1: Airline tube loop with an air vent (budget friendly)
Idea 2: Acrylic tube loop with a bubbler (harvest friendly)
Idea 3: Clear Acrylic tube loop with an automatic discharge system (harvest friendly and increases algae growth)
Idea 4: Airline tube loop but with baking soda added (budget friendly and increases algae growth)
Idea 5: Clear Acrylic tube loop with an air vent, bubbler, baking soda and Arduino (budget, harvest and user friendly and increases algae growth rate)
Lastly, we had to score each of the options from a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being the best❗ Before I show the results, I would like to appreciate my team members for the hardships that we endured together😎😎. (hardships=not procrastinating). Throughout the whole process of Ideation and Idea Selection💡💡, I'm honestly surprised that we didn't have much disagreements, and instead, everyone was listening to each others opinion and gave appropriate feedback👍. But that dosen't mean that it was easy😵 The scores had to be given fairly and reasonably as we had to justify them as well. (Justifying was probably the hardest part) Now without further ado🥁🥁🥁Here are the scores❗❗
I honestly have no idea what we are going to do now after we sieved this out so....I'll update you in the next blog❗ BYEBYE👋👋
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