Week 05: Growing Spirulina

We have decided to focus our efforts on addressing painpoints with current cultivation methods:

1. The main issues that people who start growing spirulina deal with is getting the culture going after a few trials. This is due to the precision needed in providing the right PH, temperature, light and nutrients for the culture.

2. The other issue is harvesting. Currently harvest is messy and time consuming.

3. Most people who grow spirulina at home are among the DIYers who experiment with growing different organisms at home. These people tend to be purists, who want to grow their own food organically and the current kits don’t address this need.

To address these main issues, we aim to design a device to automate:

• feeding ( compost tea)

• PH balance (baking soda)

• temperature

• light

• harvest

Week 04: Urban Algae Farming

I initially took this course as a way to get to work on one of my passion projects: Urban Farming

Our initial readings and class discussions confirmed by existing belief that the current food system is highly flawed and due for major corrections. I’m a believer in decentralized and local production(farming) and distribution of food, and I think a city like NY is the perfect urban setting to implement local urban farming systems.

After conducting research on aquaculture, I became interested in algae farming and decided to focus on designing a system for regular people to grow algae as one of their main food sources in their apartment. After reading Timothy’s blog post, I realized that we both have similar objectives, and I think through collaboration and combining our skills we will accomplish our goal in the limited timeframe we have.

For now, we have decided to design an automated algae growing unit for people with limited time and space. We believe Spirulina is the most suitable algae to grow as a food source. Its properties make it easy to grow and harvest. Also, it has already established itself as a superfood and a good source of protein among the health conscious as well as the vegan consumer markets.

We’re still doing research on urban and algae farming, as well as the design and technical aspects of our project. I personally still wonder if we should design a personal algae growing unit or a community/building unit. Another important element that we are being mindful of is creating a closed loop system that can close the loop in food production, consumption and waste. For this, we are looking into using compost or other sources like gray water as the source of nutrients to grow Spirulina.

Week 02: Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the farming and husbandry of freshwater and marine animals and plants in controlled environments. Although aquaculture serves many purposes, the most important one is to supply food for humans. It also supports the food chain at a lower level by producing algae and other plant organisms for animal feed.

List of Pros of Aquaculture

1. Source of Food for People and Marine Species: an effective solution to meet the increasing demand for seafood and other fish species.

2. Source of Income: this gives livelihood to fishermen and other people since it opens job opportunities.

3. Flexibility: fish farms can be built and established anywhere where there is body of water.

4. Helps Waste Problems: re-circulating aquaculture systems is also a big help in reducing, reusing and recycling waste materials that is healthy not only for the cultured species of fish but also to the environment.

List of Cons of Aquaculture

1. Propagation of Invasive Species: it can lead to the increase population of invasive species that are harmful to the other marine species because they take away the food supply for fishes in the wild.

2. Threat to Coastal Ecosystems: this method does not help in recycling wastes but instead cause it.

3. Contaminates Water and Threatens Health: since fish farms can be built basically in any body of water, the chances for water contamination are higher since waste products from the fish can stay in the water which is sometimes used for drinking by people in poor communities.

4. Affects Wild Fish Population: it takes more than just an ample amount of wild fish to feed one salmon for commercial consumption. This can result to diminished supply of wild fish that can affect the population as well as the continuity of marine life.

5. Impact on the Environment: the changes in the habitat that need to be made to build fish cages and tanks could result in destruction of properties and loss of lives can happen during cyclones and hurricanes.

---

Types of aquaculture

Mariculture: cultivates marine organisms either in the open ocean, an enclosed portion of the ocean, or tanks or ponds filled with seawater. Finfish (like flounder and whiting), shellfish (like prawns and oysters), and sea plants (like kelp and seaweed) are cultured in saltwater.

Algaculture: cultivates algae. Most algae harvested is either microalgae (phytoplankton, microphytes or planktonic algae) or macroalgae, commonly known as seaweed. Its size and cultivation needs make it hard to grow. Microalgae are easier to harvest on a large scale.

Integrated multitrophic aquaculture: (IMTA) is a more advanced system of aquaculture. In a multitrophic system, different species with various nutritional needs are combined into one system. 

Factors when choosing potential new aquatic organisms

• reproductive habits

• requirements of eggs and larvae

• adaptability to crowded conditions

• feeding habits of organisms

Issues

1. Living conditions

2. Potential diseases affecting aquatic organisms

3. Aquaculture's impact on the environment

4. Animal cruelty

---

Aquacultural plant production

the plants are grown mainly with two different methods: ‘Hydroponics’ is where the cultivated plants are grown with plant roots directly exposed to water; and ‘Floating Plant Ponds. A floating plant pond is a modified maturation pond with floating (macrophyte) plants. Plants such as water hyacinths or duckweed float on the surface while the roots hang down into the water to uptake nutrients and filter the water that flows by. 

Hydroponics

Plants are grown in a liquid solution consisting of water and the required nutrients of a particular plant, or within a system that uses a substrate or growing mix medium in addition to the liquid (water) nutrient flow.

The required nutrients are determined based on the plant needs and mixed into a plant's water supply artificially. Nutrient-rich wastewater flowstreams such as urine, reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants, pretreated greywater or water coming from fish production ponds can be used as a source of water and nutrients.

Hydroponic systems are used to produce, tomatoes, lettuce, watercress, chinese cabbages, bock choy, shoots of plants including beans, and barley, and varieties of flowers and even tree seedlings are grown using hydroponics.

Requirements

• A sufficient amount of land (or pre-existing pond)

• Warm or tropical climates with no freezing temperatures, and preferably with high rainfall and minimal evaporation.

• Trained staff is required for the constant operation and maintenance of the pond.

• The fish and plants should have similar needs as far as temperature and pH. (As a general rule, warm, fresh water, fish and leafy crops such as lettuce and herbs will do the best. In a system heavily stocked with fish, you may have luck with fruiting plants such as tomatoes and peppers.)

Plants that will do well in any aquaponic system:

• any leafy lettuce

• pak choi

• kale

• swiss chard

• arugula

• basil

• mint

• watercress

• chives

• most common house plants

Plants that have higher nutritional demands and will only do well in a heavily stocked, well established aquaponic system:

• tomatoes

• peppers

• cucumbers

• beans

• peas

• squash

• broccoli

• cauliflower

• cabbage

Other crops grown in aquaponics:

• bananas

• dwarf citrus trees: lemons, limes and oranges

• dwarf pomegranate tree

• sweet corn

• micro greens

• beets

• radishes

• carrots

• onions

• edible flowers: nasturtium, violas, orchids

---

Algae

Algae are a diverse group of aquatic organisms that have the ability to conduct photosynthesis. They can exist as single, microscopic cells; they can be macroscopic and multicellular; live in colonies; or take on a leafy appearance as in the case of seaweeds such as giant kelp. Lastly, algae are found in a range of aquatic habitats, both freshwater and saltwater.

the general term "algae" includes prokaryotic organisms — cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae — as well as eukaryotic organisms (all other algal species)

Algal biofuels are a promising replacement for fossil fuels. All algae have the ability to produce energy-rich oils and several microalgal species naturally accumulate high levels of oil in their dry mass. Moreover, algae are found in diverse habitats and can reproduce quickly. They also efficiently use carbon dioxide. Green algae, diatoms and cyanobacteria are just some of the microalgal species that are considered good candidates for the production of biofuel (Biofuels, 2010). 

Algae as food

IWi is betting their strain, nannochloropsis, will be next big food trend. The company already sells algae as omega-3 and EPA supplements at the The Vitamin Shoppe and on Amazon. It's now developing algae-based snacks and protein powders.

"Algae is going to be part of a regular food chain for us. It's going to be great thing for all of us and for our planet."

IWi's strain of algae takes saltwater, desert land and CO2 and turns it into something special, made up of 40% protein, it can produce about seven times the amount of protein as soybeans on the same amount of land. The plant also releases oxygen into the air. (About 50% of the world's oxygen comes from algae).

To successfully harvest algae, an algae farm needs:

1. the right temperature range

2. light source

3. nutritional characteristics in the water source.

Algae is most commonly cultivated in open-pond systems, such as ponds, pools and lakes. However, these systems don't allow for control of light or temperature.

Closed-pond systems are pools or ponds that are covered. Even though the closed-pond system allows more species to grow, it tends to be smaller in scale, so it produces a smaller crop. One variation of the closed-pond system is the photobioreactor, a system that incorporates a light source. Although nutrients must be brought into this type of system, it can produce high-yield crops.

IWi uses an open method by harnessing the power of the sun to feed its algae. Algae at the farm is grown in long ponds called "raceways," and an engine constantly churns water to make sure the algae is exposed to the sunlight. CO2 and a tiny bit of fertilizer is then pumped into the water to help the algae bloom.

---

Sources:

https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/aquaculture.htm

https://sswm.info/sswm-university-course/module-6-disaster-situations-planning-and-preparedness/further-resources/aquaculture-%28plants%29

https://aquaponics.com/recommended-plants-and-fish-in-aquaponics/https://www.livescience.com/54979-what-are-algae.html
https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/01/technology/algae-food/index.html

Week 01: DNA + CRISPR

In my opinion, there’s no doubt that the CRISPR technology is groundbreaking and an inevitable leap into a trans-humanist future. Although I had some understanding of the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas9 and its possible implications, after reading more about how the technology works and how it could affect not only a genetically altered species, but the entire ecosystem as well, I realized the urgency for not only the scientific community, but the lawmakers and the global population to get informed and involved.

I think the CRISPR technology has great potential. However, going forward we, as a species, need to establish rules to determine how this technology is used, by whom and for what purpose. As one of the articles suggests, we can use CRISPR to engineer better food to feed the rising population. However, as always there’s a trade off between quality and higher profit margins. Therefore, I believe it’s essential that this technology be used first for the holistic betterment of earth’s ecosystems, second to improve the living conditions for the human species, and lastly to increase efficiency or economic growth.

In addition to the fantastic potential of CRISPR, bio-mimicry is a subject that I have always found fascinating. As an artist/designer I’ve always looked to nature for inspiration. After all, nature has had billions of years to evolve and improve itself. Therefore, I believe it’s absolutely critical for not only scientists and designers, but also for builders and engineers to study nature to create superior work.

Overall, I’m looking forward to integrate bio-mimicry into my project for this class, and can’t wait to learn more about gene editing and possibly utilizing it in my final project…

Aquaculture

As a designer and environmentalist who cares about the well being of other species, I’m interested in creating urban friendly farming solutions to empower individuals and communities and revolutionize the way we see and acquire our food.

After broad preliminary research on aquaculture, I see potential in integrating urban farming and aquaculture. However, I will focus my research on aquatic weeds and vegetables, such as algae.