Polymer Dispenser Planning

Overview

In my senior design group, we have decided to design and manufacture a novel mechanism that can dispense polymer and seeds for small-scale farmers in Mexico. The polymer is known as potassium polyacrylate which is a superabsorbent polymer, where it can absorb large sum of water when it is planted under crops. This could help farmers save water and move away from current irrigation system such as an automatic sprinkler where some water eventually evaporates before it hits the soil. The use of potassium polyacrylate for farmers has been relatively new. Since it was first popularized by Leondardo Rico, the director of Lluvia Sólida, who produces the potassium polyacrylate polymer in Mexico.

In our first semester, we are in the planning state where researching, interviewing, and prototyping is the main priority. As my group prepare for the next semster, we are going to interview more farmers regarding how they want the actual mechanism to work for delivering polymers and seeds to the plant. All processes shown below are for testing and prototyping purpose.

Process

Researching and Interviewing Professionals in the Field

We started out by surveying the market to see if there are any automatic polymer dispenser and automatic seed dispenser. Since there are no existing mechanism that can deliver polymer to the plant, farmers in Mexico plant the polymer with the seeds manually with hand without using any machine. This is a problem because even in small-scale farm planting the polymer is still a labor intensive job. Also, if polymers are not used then the farmers would need to water the plant frequently and using other irrigation system would waste a lot of water either by over-watering or lose water due to evaporation. So, our group decided to create a mechanism that can simultaneously deliver polymer and seed to the soil to reduce labor and save water.

Notes from interview with Leondardo Rico, the director of Lluvia Sólida :

• Polymer can last 8 - 10 years in soil

• Polymer can be applied dry and hydrated

• Precision seeder mechanism must be used since a specific amount of polymer is needed on every plant

• Recommends fertilizer injectors that has enough pressure to apply the polymer to the exact depth under the plant

Outcome

Insights and Future Goals for Upcoming Semester

After conducting research, interview, and demonstration of a few delivery mechanism, we have decided to have a more in-depth look on how to develop the most optimal delivery mechanism for delivering polymers and seeds, in a sequence, to soil based on the transmission ratio or using sensors for detection. Modifications or redesign to our delivery cart mechanism would be implemented based on farmer's need and research.