Embedding Microorganisms in Interior Design elements to achieve Design Ecology (Empirical study on achieving energy selfproducing systems)

Abstract

This research was conducted in corresponding to energy crisis and the global warming effects of utilizing non renewable energy sources (fossil fuels). Contributing to high Co2 emissions. The study proposed bioenergy sources as a sufficient alternative for power supply in building sectors for domestic use as it achieves a multi scale solution for the addressed problem; being safe, efficient in electrical power generation, cost effective, waste treating, easy to implement in domestic use, easy to use, reproducible and available. In this extent an experimental study on bioelectricity generation employing microbial fuel cell device was conducted based on previous research review, analysis and scientific interdisciplinary study developed for the case based design. Including introduction to interdisciplinary sciences, mainly biotechnology, tissue engineering, bio materials, synthetic biology, bio informatics and biodigital design involved in the embedding and integration of microbes in design for ecological purposes, bioluminescent activity physio-chemical basis and biological synthesis potentials and possible design application. Bioelectricity bio-electro chemical basis and introduction of fuel cells and microbial fuel cells devices technology as a specific bioreactor for exploiting natural exoelectrogeneses of microbes. The experimental study surveyed various microbial species for optimum production of indicator enzyme (laccase) that is the main precursor agent in the oxidation-reduction reaction of bioelectricity generation; the potent strain was molecularly identified as Aspergillus sydowii NYKA 510, and further optimized for its growth condition to be employed in a single chamber membrane-less MFC for bioelectricity generation and optimization. The system achieved at 2000 Ω, 0.76 V, 380 mAm-2, 160 mWm-2, and 0.4 W. the MFC needed initialization time of 4 days for generating steady current, and maintained steady performance of 6 days before the need to be recharged with fresh medium and dispersed spores. A self-sufficient lighting unit was implemented by employing a system of 2 sets of 4 MFCs each, connected in series, for electricity generation. The self-sufficient cluster design involved the inner system of the MFCs and the outer container, which gave the cluster its final form. The formal design included patterned customized mass depending on bio digital design procedures through utilizing scanning electron microscopy images of A. sydowii NYKA 510 in algorithmic form generation equations. Patterned customized mass approach were developed by the authors and chosen for application in the design. Following this, a multidisciplinary study based on biological imagery and dynamic mathematical modeling was carried on, in order to achieve coupling between form and function in the self-sufficient bioelectricity generating system. This phase involved a review of scientific bases of biological imagery study and mathematical modeling of biological behavior and categorization according to physio-chemical pathways and stochastic dynamics basis; as cellular automata, agent based, partial differential equations, and introduced the basis of complex intelligence systems. Followed by another experimental phase of designing a cellular automata-agent based combined model of biased random walk that simulate the fungal cells complex behavior in oxidation-reduction reaction responsible for bioelectricity generation inside MFCs (including nutrients search, chemotaxis, oxidation-reduction reaction active site). This reaction was chosen for the study in order to achieve coherence in coupling form and function. Results were employed in extensive design study of the design methodology and criteria of embedding microorganisms in interior design elements to achieve space ecology through case-based design approach. Resulting in two main categories of bioactive devices (applied in this thesis scope and coherent to its objectives), and bioactive hybrids or bioactive materials of system which is a material for further investigation.