Project
Before beginning this project we studied and learned about the effects of impure water and the many methods of sterilizing said water. For example, we spent 1-2 days learning about the Flint Water Crisis in which the city had switched their supply of water to the Flint River, which contained high levels of lead. We also had two presentation with different waste water management specialist. This helped to thoroughly inform us on the subject of water purification and prepare us for the project that we were to be assigned. The goal of this project was to create a method of water purification that would be easily accessible to the public, and then present it in front of our classmates and the The Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise. As a group, we decided to focus on the process of coagulation and flocculation in water purification. To do this we created a powder comprised of ferrous sulfate and calcium chloride. The ferrous sulfate has a positive charge which would attract and collect the negatively charged dirt particles while the calcium chloride would serve as a disinfectant in order to eliminate further health concerns in the water. After creating the powder we ran a few tests on the control water and the water with our product in it. In order to fully understand our product, it's effect on the dirty water, and the results, we wanted to determine things like nitrogen level, pH, etc. After running the tests, we packaged the product and presented.
Terms
Coagulation - The chemical reaction in which particles bond into larger, combined masses of particles. This reaction affects their buoyancy and weight.
Solvent - The dissolver of a solute into a solution.
Solution - The result of a solute being dissolved in a solvent.
Solute - The thing that is dissolved in a solution.
Valance Electron - Electrons that are on the outermost shell of an atom. They determine how the atom will bond.
Flocculation - A procedure in which particles are separated from one another and then are combined.
Covalent Bond - A chemical bond that is caused by the sharing of electrons.
Chlorides - The chemical compound that contains the element chlorine. They are able to kill off unsanitary lifeforms like bacteria.
pH - Stand for "Potential Hydrogen" and is the acidity level in a liquid, which is based off the frequency of hydrogen ions.
Ions - A molecule with an electron count that causes it to be positively or negatively charged.
Ionic Bonding - The chemical bond that is caused by the transfer of valance electrons.
Solvent - The dissolver of a solute into a solution.
Solution - The result of a solute being dissolved in a solvent.
Solute - The thing that is dissolved in a solution.
Valance Electron - Electrons that are on the outermost shell of an atom. They determine how the atom will bond.
Flocculation - A procedure in which particles are separated from one another and then are combined.
Covalent Bond - A chemical bond that is caused by the sharing of electrons.
Chlorides - The chemical compound that contains the element chlorine. They are able to kill off unsanitary lifeforms like bacteria.
pH - Stand for "Potential Hydrogen" and is the acidity level in a liquid, which is based off the frequency of hydrogen ions.
Ions - A molecule with an electron count that causes it to be positively or negatively charged.
Ionic Bonding - The chemical bond that is caused by the transfer of valance electrons.
Reflection
Out of all of the projects we've had this semester, I'd say I'm most proud of this one. I felt that I contributed a lot more than I have to other groups in the past and overall felt more confident in our product and what we were studying. My teammates worked hard everyday and were always open to suggestion and ideas. Not once did we ever come across an issue that we would argue on or that we couldn't resolve. I personally feel that if it weren't for the fantastic work ethic of my group, our project wouldn't have been as successful as it ended up being. That being said, in any project there will always be some things that can be fixed during the process of creating a product. For example, we realized that we did not have the proper chemicals to continue with the creation of our powder. We had a moment where we almost decided to abandon the idea and create a simpler, easier product but thankfully we decided to see if there were any other chemicals that could match the properties of the unattainable ones. Fortunately we found some similar replacements and we were able to continue on. Another issue we ran into was the availability of some of our group members. One of our teammates was unable to come to class for many of the days that we worked on the project. While this would usually create many problems in terms of on time completion, we were able to adjust to his absence. We divided the work and set goals so that we could plan out our main tasks as to finish the project on time with no stress. With these problem solving skills and the ambition of the group we completed the project with a working product.