The Potential Fertilizer Effect of the Detroit River: Year 2 Abstract:
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Synthesis of Nanoparticle-Enabled Polymer Membranes for Biofouling
Mitigation Abstract:
Two methods (further referred to as “in-situ” and “ex-situ”) were used to synthesize membranes filled with silver nanoparticles. In the ex-situ method, the nanoparticles were prepared as an organic sol prior to membrane casting in the same solvent used to dissolve the membrane polymer. In the in-situ method, silver nanoparticles were produced by reducing ionic silver dissolved in the polymer casting mixture during the membrane casting process. Ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes were created, and Escherichia coli was used to biofoul the membranes. A protein assay characterized the bacterial growth on each membrane. The protein assay showed that silver membranes did significantly reduce biofouling, and the in-situ membranes exhibited higher biocidal activity than ex-situ membranes due to the smaller size and higher number of silver nanoparticles in its nanocomposite structure. Also, with the increase in porosity from UF range to MF range, bacterial growth became more pronounced. Preliminary replenishment strategies showed potential in incorporating new silver into membranes via delayed nucleation
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Spinning Cyclone Abstract:
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This experiment
was designed to test the viability of using unfiltered Detroit River water
(raw) as a potential growth agent for plants as opposed to the use of filtered
tap water. The experiment observed the effect of the water on both types
of plants recognized by scientists today: monocots and dicots. The unfiltered
and filtered water samples were collected throughout the year corresponding
with each season: spring, summer, fall, and winter; and water analyses tests
have been conducted on all water samples with the help of a chemist at the
Detroit Water Department. Some substances tested for include phosphate, pH,
and alkalinity. It was hypothesized that summer season filtered tap water
would have a more significant effect on the plant growth due to its containment
of necessary nutrients, like phosphate, and the water’s warm temperature
which allows these substances to shuffle around more. A two Sample T-Test
has confirmed that the spring, summer, and fall unfiltered raw water had
an insignificant effect on the growth of plants. Although, the summer season
filtered tap water had a p-value of .03 when compared to raw water verifying
that the summer tap water did increase the plant growth significantly. If
this experiment had verified a significant effect in using unfiltered raw
water, farmers and gardeners could use this water rather than tap water which
would drastically decrease their water bills since unfiltered water is much
cheaper to distribute.
In filtration
systems, biofouling remains one of the serious threats to cost and productivity,
as microbes accumulate on the membrane. By adding silver nanoparticles, known
biocidal agents, onto the polymeric membranes, biofouling could be mitigated.
The purpose
of this project was to determine if applying a cyclonic filter to an automobile
exhaust system will significantly decrease the amount of particulate pollution
that goes into the air. The first prototype of the cyclonic filter was created
out of paper; however, the paper was not able to with stand the force of
the vacuum pulling system will significantly decrease the amount of particulate
pollution that goes into the air. Then a cyclone was made out of poster board
material, after the poster board prototype was successful in filtering the
material, the final prototype was created out of plexiglass™. The
plexiglass™ was successful in pulling out larger particles like the
iron filings about an average of 61% of the iron filings but the chalk dust
about 3% of chalk dust was unsuccessful in both prototypes, thus proving
the cyclone is able to filter particles and depending on the particle size.