Week 6 Post 4

We have added a thick layer of cotton to the prototype. 

When did you first test your prototype?

We built it on May 4th (Week 5) and on the same day tested it with a cup of soy sauce mixed with tap water.  The water came out clear, and we all successfully consumed it and are still alive today.  Later that week in class on Friday (May 8th, start of Week 6) was the first time we tested out the prototype with the three actual solutions we'll be filtering in the final presentation.

What is constituted as a "Week?"

Everytime we have class, it constitutes that start of a new "Week." We have this class on Fridays so it can get confusing.  For example, although a given Tuesday may be the second week of a term, it is still considered "Week 1" of this project until class later that week on Friday, which sets "Week 2" of the project in motion.  And the next Friday starts Week 3 of the project, and so on.

Filtering out Nile Red Dye

This was the most difficult trial our prototype had to pass.

Week 6 Post 3

We believe the prototype can be improved by ensuring that the filter is fully dry for the next test (it was still wet from testing earlier in the week) and by adding a few more layers of cotton and air filter to the tangible, since it appeared that the layers of air filter were the best at catching the Nile red dye.

Week 6 Post 2

In the Copper sulfate trial, the water came into the cup clear and took 45 seconds to do so.

In the Nile red dye trial, the the water was clear for a while, but then some dye came through at the very end, and turned the clear water a very light pink.  This took 35 seconds.

In the micro bead trial,  no micro beads came through, however, some of the Nile red dye from the previous trial came through into the water and turned it magenta.  This third trial took 24 seconds.



Over all the Copper sulfate and the micro bead trials were successful while the Nile Red was not.  The filter was very quick compared to others, which was unintended but pleasant.

Week 6 Post 1

Today, we are testing the prototype.  We must filter out copper solution, Nile red dye,  and microbeads, and the water must come out through the filter clean and clear.

Week 5 Post 1

Today we are going to build the filter.  There is an upside down 1.89 L Gatorade bottle.  We have a layer of gravel on the bottom, above that is a layer of cotton (punched into the bottle),  then more gravel, then more cotton, as seen below. We still have to add some layers.  Some concerns we have water dripping through the sides past the materials, but we hope this can be prevented by pressing the materials in enough with heavy material on the top of the filter (perhaps a ton of gravel).  We decided to omit the lent filter because if it filtered out anything, it'd be metal flakes and we believe that those would fit through the holes in the lent filter.

We are considering using the lent filter for the bottom of the filter instead of the mesh wiring.  This made the water flow a lot faster.  When we filtered, the water came out dirtier than it was when it first came through.  We assume this is because the gravel is still slightly dirty even after we cleaned it.  We kept running water through until it was clear. We all drank the filtered tap water.

We used Dareus' parts per million reader to see the difference between the tap water and the filter water.  Originally it was coming out to be more ppm than the tap water and we assume that it's because the filter was cleaning itself.  The gravel was still slightly dirty even after we'd cleaned it with soap and water. 

Week 3 Post 1

We have gathered all of our materials needed for the filter except the gravel (which we probably will not be using). The group has timed how long it takes water to pass through 1-inch and 2-inch thick layers for each material we're planning to use.  The results are as follows:

We cut off the bottom half of an empty water bottle and took off its cap.  We then cut some metal wiring mesh from the air filter and placed it over water bottle's entrance (as seen in the image from Google below) and secured it there with a zip tie.  We then turned the water bottle upside down.  This is all to prevent the filtering materials from falling out through the entrance while water is being poured on top of them.  The clean water comes out through the metal mesh wiring. 

 

Each material was put into the bottle in 1-inch or 2-inch layers had 1 cup of water poured on them.  They were timed from the moment the water started to be poured up until the last drops of water passed through the metal mesh.

Week 2 Post 1

Because boiling with the sun and magnifying glasses would require a lot of time and heat (the water must reach one-hundred degrees and boil for at least a minute) boiling is no longer a feasible option for our filtration system.

We are now considering using an AC unit filter.  Because it can filter out the small particles in the air it can certainly filter out particles in water.  Air-born bacteria tend to be smaller than water-born bacteria)

Brainstorming items (the bolded items are definite):

• AC unit filters 
• coffee filters 
• mesh lining on sneakers
• towel (for large particles) 
• cotton 
• sand-consistent substance
• organic charcoal 
• fish tank pebbles
• lint catcher
• sponge

There will be layers in the filter, and between each layer will be a mixture of gravel and cotton because the more, the better.  They will go in the following order:

Gravel
Lint filter
Air filter
Cotton

Week 1 Post 2

What we need to filter (and how it will be done):

• Bacteria:
• Boiling (this will be the first step in filtering the water so as to not leave behind bacteria on the filter explained below)
• We will use a desk lamp and magnifying glasses as a source of heat.  They will shine on an angel food cake baker with saran wrap over it to allow the water to condense:

• Metal Flakes and Biological 
• Our after-boiling filtration system will take place in a two-liter empty upside-down Gatorade bottle that has its bottom cut off (for unfiltered water to be poured into and for the filtered water to come out through the small opening). 
• a layer of kitty litter (a household item with the same consistency as sand).  
• below the kitty litter, a layer of chemically untreated cotton balls solidly hand-molded together (to imitate a wool sweater)

Week 1 Post 1

The majority of this week has been spent brainstorming.  Here are some of the ideas:

• filtering with bark
• boiling water
• using matches/lighters
• climb to top of house since the roof is covered in tar, burning is not a problem
• can pry wood off house to burn, or use wood floating by in water
• magnifying glass
• sunlight (may take a long time 
• electric heat 
• coal

Group Advisor - Dr. Caroline Schauer

Education

• Ph.D., chemistry, SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY; April 1997
• Dissertation: “The Development of Strategies for the Design and Synthesis of Molecular Solids”
• MS, chemistry, SUNY at Stony Brook; Stony Brook, NY; December 1994
• BS, chemistry, Beloit College; Beloit, WI; May 1991

Professional Experience

• Graduate Advisor, 09/06-09/07
  Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University
• Assistant Professor, 9/03-present
  Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Drexel University
  Projects: Biosensors and Natural Color
• NRC Research Associate, 9/01- 9/03
  Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Laboratory with Dr. Frances S. Ligler
  Project title: Colored chitosan thin films
• Postdoctoral Fellow, 12/98-7/01
  Tufts University with Prof. David R. Walt
  Project titles: Glutamate biosensor, protein cross-reactive arrays, and Enzyme-based biosensors
• Postdoctoral Fellow, 7/97-4/98
  University of Twente, the Netherlands with Prof. David N. Reinhoudt
  Project titles: Liquid crystals and Hydrogen bonded polymers

Email: cschauer@coe.drexel.edu

What university do you all attend?

We are all students at Drexel University.

Dareus Chen

Hi guys my name is Dareus Chen. I'm majoring in biomedical engineering in hopes of working on external mechanical assists and augmentation for humans or portable fast-acting short term medical solutions for the DoD.  I grew up in the rural suburbs an hour west of Boston. This past summer I moved to Los Angeles. I am a cellist of 13 years and I was on the Nordic Ski team in high school.

Email: dtc43@drexel.edu

Ashley Holmes

Hi everyone, I'm a freshman from Silver Spring, MD majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Aerospace.  I have hopes of eventually working at a company that has a mission in space exploration (maybe NASA) in order to be a part of securing the lives of future generations.  I'm involved in Drexel's Space Systems Lab, Engineers Without Borders, National Society of Black Engineers, and Drexel's African Student Association.  Community outreach is very important to me. Lastly,  I'm a violinist of nine years and I'm responsible for the upkeep of this blog. :)

Email: aeh336@drexel.edu

Jacob Lindsey

My name is Jacob (Jake) Lindsey. I am a freshman environmental engineering student at Drexel University. I chose this major because the health of our environment has become an increasing concern over the years and I would like to be part of the solution. With this career path I have chosen I could engineer more efficient ways of providing clean water to people, or perhaps I could remediate sites that have become contaminated due to human waste. There are many different things that I could do with this degree and every one of these possibilities excites me. One could assume from my major that I enjoy the outdoors and this is most certainly true. On my free time I like taking walks through the woods near my hometown of Glen Mills, PA and playing video games when I am not outside.

Email: jhl57@drexel.edu 

Juan Manriquez

Hello, I am Juan Manriquez. I wish to be a Chemical Engineer and possibly participate in the military's Chem Weapon development. I love to play Billiards, I'm considered a semi pool shark. I also love to play video games and go on long drives. I have driven from California to Texas with my Dad.

Email: jmm648@drexel.edu

Rohan Rao

Hey guys my name is Rohan Rao. I'm majoring in mechanical engineering as I'm fascinated with the working of our everyday machines and appliances. I grew up in Bangalore, India. It was just last September that I moved to Philadelphia. I enjoy playing video games and soccer in my spare time. I even represented my school in soccer back in high school.

Email:  rr587@drexel.edu