Day 8

8/18 (Day 8)

  Today we went to the university Federal do Parana. There were two parts for us to visit. The first place we visited was hydraulic lab. There was a big dam simulation facility which helped to measure velocity as well as water level. But it didn’t concern the environmental impact of the dam. Then we saw a tank used for measuring water velocity by observing fish behavior since fish was sensitive to velocity. We also saw a spillway but it didn’t work. The lab was quite an interesting place.

  After that we visited the biomass lab. They cultivate microalgae and made use of it to produce algal biomass which can be used as health food, fertilizer, industrial materials and biofuel. They tested different bacterial with different conditions to obtain good result and then scaled them up for large use. Actually it took a long time to cultivate appropriate bacteria and they were sensitive to conditions change. I was told that many bacteria were dead in lab last two weeks because of the issues from compressed air facilities. Then we went outside to see the photobioreactors. The reactors were amazing. By receiving enough sunlight and carbon dioxide, they could produce microalgae biomass for different use, but only emit oxygen. The research group was still trying to improve the efficiency. It was really excited to see such sustainable project!

Then we went back to the bus and took a 7-hour trip to Sao Pedro do Ivai in Parana.