Design for Disasters Reflection

Reflection

In the beginning of this assessment, I thought that the purpose of this assessment was quite stupid. Like what could you actually do when a disaster hits? You can only pretty much run for your life. However after much more research, things started to open up. I started to realise how much of an impact a natural disasters can be and also what kind of products would be able to help the individual or group in desperate times like these.

I regret spending such little time on the research of this project as I believe I could have been so much better however the outcome that I have reached so far, I am quite happy because of the limitations I had out of university life.

I also had found myself using the wrong material for the model itself. I had used blue foam for the final model, which was a HUGE mistake. I didn’t have the time nor experience to jump into the deep end and make my final model from blue foam. I realise now that I am really familiar with wood and will probably continue to use that in the future.

Design for Disasters Rationale

Rationale

The Portable Bio-Digester was designed for the purpose of mainly of reusing as much organic materials as it can possibly take in and make use of it. Hence the idea of creating methane gas, however I also wanted to make use of the gas also which leads to the gas cooktop inbuilt within the unit.

How the digester works is by firstly adding water and waste into the mixer compartment where inside it would become slush. It is then moved across into the digester using a pump where bacteria loving creatures break down the waste and release methane gas as a by-product. This methane gas is collected into a tank in the upper compartments for storage. When required the cooktop can be used like a normal gas stove where if a continuous amount of waste is topped up and methane production is normal; the digester is able to sustain 3 meals a day for up to 10 people for up to 20days. Food scraps and other waste are able to be put back directly into the mixer by sliding the top across that reveals the mixer. Everything can be controlled by the low power LCD screen which sits opposite the gas stove. It provides details into how well the production of methane gas is at the current moment and also how long left till the waste needs to be removed out of the digester. Once all the bacteria has eaten all the nutrients and provided the gas that we need, the system automatically opens a port towards the lower area where a tray is present. This tray allows the final by-product which can be used a fertiliser be carried around and used somewhere.

The design was focused on towards the shape of a combination of a rubbish bin and two filters that filter the water in homes today. The normal gas stove which is familiar for people to use hasn’t be redesigned as it is familiar with most users. This complete self-sufficient unit is definitely one of the better products as the only waste from the process is fertiliser which can be used pretty much anywhere.

Designing for Disasters