zacchen15
commented
6 years ago Hey Ian,
This new idea was proposed before in Spring 2017 but was ultimately decided against because of fabrication concerns involved with constructing a custom-fit O-ring on that scale. I believe we had a conversation with Monroe about it as well. Our idea was more similar to a Heremes jar like this one:
I'm not certain what conversations have come up since then but it sounds like you guys have done a lot of thought about this and the rest of the design this summer so I would certainly be open to any changes you make. Let me know if there's anything else I can do. I'm always on campus until late.
P.S. I like the tipping bucket!
IanCullings
Hi Zoe and Zac!
In our recent discussions on biogas design, we revisited the design for the lid itself. To refresh your memories, I've attached a photo below.
The most recent design for this was that it would slide into attachments on the sides and lock in place, essentially being a "fixed lid" design.
Talking about this more, concerns were brought up about the water seal on the outside, and how this would expose wastewater to the atmosphere directly. In addition to the potential for bad odors, this could allow more oxygen from the atmosphere to dissolve within the wastewater and harm the anerobic environment.
To try and solve this problem, we were thinking of creating a lid that covered the entire top of the reactor. We could still create a system to open the lid in case of emergency, probably involving a threaded cap with a strong O-ring to keep it gas tight (let me know if you want me to elaborate more on that).
However the biogas lid design kind of predates me on the team, so I wanted to check in with both of you on to see if there is any other reason we would choose this design over a complete fixed lid. Can you foresee any problems with a complete fixed lid?