You will recall from my earlier post that we have been building a biogas digester at Camp Tinangol with Camps International.
The aim of this prototype was to test whether a biogas digester could be built using unskilled labour, such as gap year students on a Camps International trip. We based our design on the well documented Deenbandhu model with a ferro-cement fixed dome for storing gas under water pressure.
Camps International are also working with us on a second digester at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC)
Our results to date have been inconclusive because the BSBCC digester is still under construction and at Tinangol, although complete, the digester has failed at the testing and commissioning stage.
Reasons for the failure at Tinangol are due perhaps not surprisingly to poor workmanship. The body of the digester was not watertight and the fixed dome was not air tight.
An important lesson that we learned is that it’s better to test a digester with water and a compressor first before you fill it with shit!
A week or so after filling the Tinangol digester with ‘fuel’ the camp residents reported a foul smell and grey water seeping up through the ground at the perimeter of the digester. We had to pump all the shit out and flush the digester twice with fresh water before it was clear to dig out around the digester back to slab level and pour an extra skin of concrete around the entire thing to block the multiple leaks.
With water-tightness rectified and tested satisfactorily we turned our attention to testing for air leakage. We did this by hiring a compressor (the type used by builders to power nail guns) and pushing an air hose down the displacement tank and into the body of the digester so that we could fill the dome with air.
Using a home made ‘U’ tube pressure gauge we sat back and waited to see whether the digester would hold the 10cm static head of water pressure that we had pumped in.
The pressure deflated faster than a whoopee cushion under a fat man’s arse.
With reference to a schoolboy trick for locating bicycle tyre punctures we coated the digester dome and gas pipes with a viscous washing-up-liquid solution and pressurised it again. By this method we quickly located gas leaks in the pipes that distribute biogas to the kitchen stove. These leaks were easy to fix with some extra plumbing tape and a silicon gun but the ferro-cement dome stubbornly refused to reveal the location of other leaks.
The digester still would not hold pressure.
We tried testing the dome at different pressure levels to see if we could isolate how far up the dome was the point of leakage. This made no difference except that at higher pressures the deflation curve was not uniform. There would be a fast initial deflation followed by a slower rate and then it would speed up again. Bubbles of air also appeared in the water in the displacement tank although we knew from the pressure gauge that the level of air in the dome was well above its underflow level at the displacement tank opening.
Our conclusion from these tests was that there were multiple points of leakage and that some leaks may be being transferred from one place to another through interstitial cavities in the ferro-cement dome and brickwork of the displacement tank.
We were not able to pinpoint the location of any of the leaks.
As the digester had already received multiple additional coatings of cement plaster we decided that it wasn’t worth putting on an extra layer to try to stop the invisible leaks.
Our strategy now is to wait until the BSBCC digester is finished and put that through the same tests. Being our second digester (more experience) and a little larger (easier working access) the quality of plastering work on this Mark II Prototype is a lot better than the first.
Meanwhile the effluent pipes in the Tinangol digester have been modified so that it can function as a normal septic tank.
If the BSBCC digester also proves to be incapable of storing not so much as a fart of methane we will look at an alternative biogas digester design; most likely with a floating gas holder where the use of prefabricated HDPE or fibreglass would more or less guarantee air-tightness.
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Tags: biogas, Borneo, Camp Borneo, Camps International, sun bear, Tinangol
The following is written by my friend and colleague, Cynthia. I endorse her views and recommend you read them because by chosing to mobilise around the issue of clean energy, Cynthia has shown how our shared values of environmental conservation, sustainable development and just government are being swept under the carpet in Malaysia.
Dear Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak,
I write to you as a deeply concerned and saddened citizen of Malaysia. For most of the 45 years of my life, I have been proud to be Malaysian. Recently, I have become heartbroken to be Malaysian.
I am profoundly grateful to write this with the support of both my local communities in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo and California, U.S.A., and a larger world community. That said, I take full ownership of and sole responsibility for the views articulated in this letter; I express them from my stand as a mother, an earth citizen and a leader.
I founded and lead a public charity and non profit organization both in Malaysia and in the U.S., to bridge between worlds and build partnerships for ecological conservation. I have been at the front lines of the founding and mobilization of Green SURF (Sabah Unite to RePower the Future), the civil society movement opposing the construction of the 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, Sabah, on the edge of the Coral Triangle, one of three of the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems. You know. You signed the 6-nation declaration between Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Solomon Islands to collectively protect this 1.6 billion acres of ocean. You also know of course of your pledge at Copenhagen to reduce carbon emission intensity by up to 40% by 2020. You likely also know that the plant will displace fishing communities who have been there for a long time – irreparably contaminating their livelihoods forever. And if you listened, you would also know that they do not want the “development” that your government is imposing on them.
One of the priorities of Green SURF was to study clean energy alternatives to the coal-plant, and propose them to the government. We collectively invested tremendous time and resources to identify and commission the expertise of Professor Daniel Kammen at Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory of University of California, Berkeley to conduct the Clean Energy Options for Sabah report. We had no notion of the outcome of the study, and results showed that Sabah is in an exceptional position to shift towards clean energy due to the availability of natural resources. We are in fact in an opportune position to lead the nation and the region in clean energy – the kind of leadership the world so urgently needs now. I wonder if you know that Sabah is the last coal power-free frontier of Borneo. FYI, the 5 core NGOs in Green SURF are amongst the largest, oldest and most recognized conservation groups in Sabah and Malaysia – collectively responsible for most of the conservation work in the nation, with partnerships that span the world.
We have tried every avenue available to communicate to you the results of our findings and to engage in discussion about the future of energy for Sabah. After months of unsuccessful attempts to meet with you, I can only conclude that you do not want to meet with us. This confuses and disturbs me. Your words in public are about listening to the rakyat (people) and hearing their views. A sizeable portion of the rakyat of Sabah has been doing everything within their power to be heard by you. To no avail. We have given you the benefit of the doubt that word is not getting to you, and yet we have met with those around you who promised they would convey our message to you. Many months, memos, reports, letters, faxes, emails and phone calls later, and we have not received a single response from you or any member of your administration. We also did our best at state level government, and have huge support from within the government but ultimately the message is that this is untouchable because “ini Najib mau” (Najib wants this).
Sir, my most consistent experience of your administration is stone walls, arrogance and insincerity. I am shocked by the behavior of the leadership of my nation. I find it patronizing, archaic, oppressive, blatantly and self-righteously elitist and top-down. I do not experience your administration as democratic, transparent, open, accountable or responsible. There is a deep incongruence between what you are projecting externally and what we have experienced internally. I can only surmise that you intentionally run your administration in this manner. Otherwise, it would mean that your leadership is incompetent and ineffective.
I am angry, and I am not willing to accept systemic disempowerment of our people. I am writing this open letter as a last resort. Sabahans are speaking up because we are deeply troubled and scared about the fate of our ecological and cultural legacy, and what we will be able to hand down to our future generations. Please show true leadership and listen. You and your administration have much to do to regain a modicum of respect amongst many Sabahans. If 1Malaysia is more than a PR campaign and is truly intended “to provide a free and open forum to discuss the things that matter deeply to us as a Nation”, please walk your talk.
Yours sincerely, for the children,
Cynthia Clare Ong Gaik Suan
IC# 650423 12 5708
c.c. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
United Nations General Assembly
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
The Parliament of Malaysia
Suhakam – Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
Professor Daniel Kammen, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
FaceBook, Twitter, blogs and websites
Local, national and international mainstream and alternative media
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(passed by United Nations General Assembly, 1948)
Article 21.
* (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
* (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
* (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Further Reading
Green SURF Website
Another view on mobilising around climate change
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Tags: Climate Change, Coal Power, Cynthia Ong, Environmentalism, Green Surf, Ian Hall, Malaysia
Two new architectural assistants have arrived in Seplikok to help with the next phase of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). They’ll be working with volunteer groups such as Raleigh to build peripheral infrastructure and at the same time assisting to prepare tender drawings for the new visitor centre that is hoped to start construction in early 2011.
They are pictured here getting all enthusiastic with their sketchbooks at Ba Linn rooftop bar in Sandakan.
Chris is an RIBA Part I student on his year out from Huddersfield University in the UK. He applied to join a three month internship with Arkitrek after attending a lecture about our work at his school of architecture. Huddersfield offers an Architecture (International) BA(Hons) course which complements work experience opportunities with Arkitrek in Borneo.
Daniele is a B. Arch Candidate at the University of Oregon in the USA. He’s on secondment to BSBCC as part of his work with LEAP, one of the partners in the client body that constitutes BSBCC. He has a special interest in thermal performance of buildings and will be helping to evaluate other built projects by Arkitrek and LEAP in Sabah.
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Tags: Architecture, Bornean Sun Bear, Chris Trunkfield, Daniele Cohen, Huddersfield, Intern, LEAP, Oregon, Rainforest, sepilok, University
Wild Asia has announced the finalists for the 5th Responsible Tourism Awards 2010! We shortlisted several operators from across Asia in each category for their outstanding responsible tourism practices. Arkitrek’s Ian Hall is a judge for the awards and has also helped to refine the checklists and questionaires that are our tools for identifying best practice.
The shortlisted hotels and tour operators were reviewed and extensively researched by our judging panel which comprised of responsible tourism (RT) experts, academics, conservationists, and eco-consultants. Wild Asia’s judging panel first examined all of the completed checklists submitted by the operators, which outlined their best management practices and specific RT efforts undertaken by them. Then, through a scoring system, the panel analyzed and ranked each answer from the advanced entry forms in order to determine the finalists.
Between the months of August and September, a team of fact finders and media from Wild Asia will conduct site visits to verify the submitted self-assessment checklists and photo-document unique best practices.
Winners will be announced on 21 October 2010, during the Responsible Tourism Awards ceremony held in conjunction with the ITB Asia Trade Show in Singapore, which runs from 20 – 22 October 2010.
To find out this year’s finalists go to the Wild Asia website!
Tags: 2010, Finalists, Ian Hall, Responsible Tourism Awards, Wild Asia
I was up before dawn to watch the sun rise from the view point at Borneo Rainforest Lodge. I could see nothing on account of cloud and so I lay down on the bench and went to sleep for a while.
I was woken up by an orang-utan rustling the branches above me. I ignored it and rolled over on my binoculars-rolled-up-in-my-hat pillow. Another rustle and debris showered the observation deck.
‘OK you bugger, I’m getting up’ I grumbled and went to check on the progress of the view.
The reason I had come to the viewpoint was to see the dipterocarps fruiting. This tree family is the cornerstone of rainforest ecology and their fruiting occurs sporadically. From the lodge by the river I could see that a lot of dipterocarps were fruiting and wanted to see what they looked like from above.
Rainforests for all their splendour are rarely anything other then green. The subtle colours of the winged fruit change this in a way that although not as showy as autumn in a temperate forest, is no less dramatic.
Viewed from above the forest canopy is tinted light green through greenish-yellow to russet-brown. Dipterocarp seeds hang wings-down and so close up there is a uniformity of the seeds’ alignment that differentiates them from leaves. Each crown looks like it has just been to the hair salon for some tip highlights. Colours are lighter in young seeds and darker as the seed wings mature and harden.
Even the mengaris trees (Koompassia Excelsa – a legume not a dipterocarp) are getting in on the action and have lost all their leaves in favour of singled-winged fruit pods that turn their entire crown red. In my six years in Malaysia I have not seen the mengaris fruiting before and they are fruiting everywhere I have been recently from Danum to Sepilok to Mt. Kinabalu.
Witnessing this phenomena is made more poignant by the knowledge that this is a mast fruiting event. The most remarkable thing about dipterocarps is the fact that once every 3 to 10 years almost every tree in a big region like North Borneo decides to fruit simultaneously.
Scientists presume that regional climate patterns set them off but it’s not really clear. As to the ecological function; the most popular theory is that it is a tactic to overwhelm predators so that enough seeds survive to germinate.
Feeling refreshed and no longer sweating from the climb up to the viewpoint I mooched on down and was given another treat on this magical morning; a lifer.
Lifer is birdwatcher speak for a bird that you haven’t seen before and the fella in question was a male white-tailed flycatcher Cyornis concretus. Peering sideways around a tree trunk I located the fluff of black with a white belly that I had caught in the corner of my eye. The dark colour became blue when seen through the binoculars and he had a thicker bill than is normal for a flycatcher.
He was a handsome fella and perched obligingly for me until I started to get bored. He even turned around so I could get a look at his back and front. After a while I decided that either he had to move or I would. I went first and managed to get to within a few meters before he flew off.
Photos of this species are scarce on the internet but I managed to find the following courtesy of Troy Shortell at Oriental Bird Club Images.
It was past breakfast time and although I hadn’t eaten I didn’t feel hungry and irritable as I often am on these early morning jaunts. I was in no hurry to get back to the lodge and walked slowly kicking in the leaf litter at a carpet of flower parts and a few immature fruit.
From the ground it is difficult to see the dipterocarp fruit but branches high in the canopy where the epiphytes bristle were awash with white flowers of the dove orchid Dendrobium crumenatum and in the mid storey the tumbling red and orange flowers on climbing vines (the ubiquitous Bunga Api, bauhinia kockiana) kept the show going.
Within a week or so the forest will be raining seed helicopters and the wild pigs will be enjoying the good times.
Related posts
Tags: Danum Valley, Dipterocarp, Koompassia Excelsa, Malaysia, Mast Fruiting, Mengaris Tree, Orang-utan, Poring, Sabah, Seeds, sepilok, White-tailed Flycatcher
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