Nearly 40% of CO2 emissions are attributable to industries. The goal of our project is to solve the CO2 problem by using engineered E.coli to fix carbon dioxide emitted from industries and convert it into bio-product, pyruvate. To accomplish our goal, we designed a device that will upscale our project to be used on field and we aim to integrate the device into industrial IGCC system. And we used the Arduino to sense the pH(連結到hardware pH), CO2 concentration(連結到hardware CO2) and temperature(連結到hardware temperature ) then use the wi-fi sensor(連結到hardware WIFI) to upload to the database. (連結到software database)Last but not least, we can monitor the data by our app.(連結到software app)

Our device consists of 3 main parts: a bioreactor, a nutrient tank and a collection tank.The flue gas contains high concentration of CO2 and this will inhibit the growth of E.coli. Thus, we reduce CO2 concentration level to less than 5% before entering the bioreactor by using flowmeter, which is an instrument for measuring the flow of gases in pipelines.

We developed a closed bioreactor system and implemented online monitoring system which can live monitoring several environmental parameters. Here is the detail of our bioreactor.

Gas inlet port are located on the bioreactor’s lower part while outlet port are located on the bioreactor’s upper lid. As low concentration CO2 enters the bioreactor, it flows through the diffuser refiner and dissolves in the buffered medium to form acid. A pH sensor and temperature sensor is installed to monitor the bioreactor tank for further control implementation. Besides, the CO2 concentration level of exhaust gas is monitored by a CO2 gas sensor, which is mounted on the upper lid. These sensor’s output is connected to an Arduino analog input and sensor readings are displayed on a serial LCD which is attached on the lid of bioreactor. The data is then uploaded in real time to a web server via WiFi by using Arduino WiFi Shield.

To prevent sedimentation of cells at the bottom of bioreactor, we build our own 3D printed slow speed magnetic stirrer which permits gentle mixing of microcarrier cell cultures. The 3D printed magnet bed is designed specifically for two magnets and can be fitted on the DC motor. The stirrer works by using a DC motor to spin two magnets with opposite polarity, which could create a magnetic field in the bioreactor and cause the stir bar to spin and mix the contents. For controlling the speed of the DC motor, we use Arduino and L298N to control the input voltage to the motor by using PWM signal.

The nutrients are pumped into the growth chamber at a rate proportional to the growth factor of the culture, which is determined experimentally through the doubling time of the particular bacterial strain.