Natural Water Filtering

Martha Motoyama – Waubonsie Valley High School Acknowledgments This project and presentation would not be possible without the help of my teachers, Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Colin, my parents, and Mr. Randy L. Vanderwerf for answering all of the endless questions that I had throughout this project. Purpose The purpose of this experiment is to determine how charcoal, sand and gravel affects how clean water becomes when used as a filter. The control group would be using no filter at all and doing nothing to the water. The dependent variable would be a grayscale that can compare to water in order to see how clean the water becomes after 10 trials. Hypothesis If charcoal is most commonly used as a drinking water filter, then charcoal is probably the best water filter because charcoal absorbs bacteria, thoroughly cleans the water and catches small particles in the water thus filtering the water. I also think that gravel will not filter the water the best because the dirt water will just go through the space between the gravel. Background Information

● Percolation: Slow movement of water through the pores in soil, permeable rock and other natural filters that filter the water.

● Filter: Porous substance that allows liquids to pass through but catches or retains small particles, filtering the liquid.

● More than half of the United States drinks groundwater daily. Importance of Filters

● In a recent study of tap water in America, it showed that contaminants in the drinking water have been linked to health problems including cancer and learning disorders.

● Other contaminants can also be found in water including other contaminants like microbes, (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.) lead, radon, radium, nitrates, arsenic, pesticides and byproducts of the disinfection process. Charcoal

● Absorbs impurities in the water.

● Removes unwanted chemicals, unwanted colors, flavors and odors from the water

● Filters some pathogens but will quickly use up the filter absorbing ability.

● Can contribute to contamination because the charcoal provides a breeding ground for bacteria and algae. Sand

● One of the oldest water treatments known.

● Two types of sand filtration: Slow sand filtration and rapid sand filtration.

● Slow sand filtration removes small particles in the water through adsorption and straining.

● Very reliable, but a very slow process.

● Rapid sand filtration is not part of the purification process in rapid sand filtration like slow sand filtration.

● Removes impurities and remnants of flocculation in most municipal water treatment plants. Gravel

● Lightweight, porous, has lots of crevasses giving it an excellent surface area for bacteria to colonize.

● Traps small bugs, sediments and any other large particles found in water.

● Allows some contaminants like microorganisms and industrial chemicals to get through

● Normally used for fish tanks Materials ● 60 – Empty Water Bottles

● 1 – Bag of Kingsford Charcoal

● 1 – Bag of Playsand

● 1 – Bag of Aquarium Gravel

● 60 – Cups of Dirty water

● 1 – Online timer

● 1 – Grayscale

● 1 – Sharpie

● 5 – White 100% Cotton T-Shirts

● 1 – Scissors

● 1 – Pencil

● 1 – Measuring Tape Grayscale

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Procedure For Filtering: 1. Obtain materials 2.Cut water bottles so that bottom half is 8cm. And top half is 13 cm, including the cap. 3. Poke a 2 mm hole through cap, cover with small cotton cloth 4. Fill top with either charcoal, gravel, or sand 5. Pour dirt water into water 6. Compare filtered water to Grayscale and record 7. Repeat 9 times. Charcoal Comparison Y

16

14

12

10 9 9 10 9 10 10 8 9 9 10 9 9 8 8 9 9 9 9 8 7 7 8 9 Score 7 8 Charcoal 1 6 8 9 9 7 Charcoal 2 6 6 Charcoal 3

4 2 2 2 2

0 1 2 Charcoal 3 3 4 5 Charcoal 2 6 7 8 Charcoal 1 9 10 Number of Trials 11 X Y Sand Comparison

16

14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 14 14 13 12 13 13 13 12 12 13 13 13 12 11 10 10 9 9 8 SAND 1 8 8 7 Score 7 SAND 2 5 SAND 3 6 6 5

4 2 2 2 2

0 1 2 SAND 3 3 4 5 SAND 2 6 7 8 SAND 1 9 10 X Number of Trials 11 Y Gravel Comparison

16

14 14 14 15 13 14 13 13 14 13 13 12 13 13 11 12 12 11 11 10 9 10

10

GRAVEL 1 8 7 8

Score GRAVEL 2 6 7 8 7 GRAVEL 3 6 6 5 6 5

4 2 2 2 2

0 1 2 GRAVEL 3 3 4 5 GRAVEL 2 6 7 8 GRAVEL 1 9 10 Number of Trials 11 X Control

16

14

12

10

8

Control 6

4

2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Control 9 10 11 Average Score Comparison

16

14

13.67 14 13 13.67 12 13 13 13.33 13.67 12.33 12 12.33 11 10 10.67 9 9.33 8.67 9.33 Sand 9 8.33 9.33 9.33 7.33 7.67 8 8.67 Gravel

Score 6.337.67 7 7 Charcoal

6 5.33 Control 5.33

2 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

0 Control 1 2 Charcoal 3 4 5 Gravel 6 7 8 Sand 9 10 Number of Trials 11 Data Table Average Results

After conducting this experiment the results showed that gravel filtered the water the best, scoring an average of 14, even though it took the longest to filter the water. The next best filter was sand, scoring an average of 13.7, filtering the water the second fastest. The last filter was charcoal with an average score of 2. Errors

●Forgot to wash my charcoal, which resulted in black water.

●Used normal charcoal instead of activated charcoal.

References

● The Biosand Filter [website ]. (n.d.). Retrieved from biosandfilter.org database.

● Dolbear, G. E., Ph.D. (n.d.). Charcoal . In World Book Online . Retrieved from World Book Student database.

● Lesicar, B. (n.d.). World Document . Retrieved from The Texas A&M University System website: http://lubbock.tamu.edu///L5229.pdf

● Pea Gravel, Larger Gravel, Lava Rock . (n.d.). Natural Filter Media [Website ]. Retrieved from http://www.oocities.com//.html

● Percolating Water Definition . (n.d.). Retrieved from Duhaime website: http://www.duhaime.org///.aspx

● Permeability . (n.d.). Permeablitly . Retrieved from Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Groundwater Supply website: http://techalive.mtu.edu///.htm

● Powell, E. (1947). Filter . In World Book (2003 ed., Vol. F7, p. 103). 233 North Michigan Chicago IL, 60504. (Original work published 1947)

● Purchon, N. D. (n.d.). Definition of Osmosis . In Osmosis . Retrieved from http://www.purchon.com//.htm#definition

● Shimek, R. L. (n.d.). Live Rock As A Bilogical Filter: Hit or Myth? . Retrieved from Reef Keeping Magazine website: http://reefkeeping.com/////.php

● 10 Water Purifcation: Physics Treatment: Charcoal Filter . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://stason.org///water-treatment/Water-Purification- Physical-Treatment-Activated-Charcoa.html

● Using sand and gravel to filter polluted water in Sudan . (n.d.). Sand and Gravel Filters . Retrieved from Practical Actions website: http://practicalaction.org/and-sanitation/

● Vermeeren, P. (n.d.). Charcoal Filters . In Charcoal Filters . Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Charcoal-Filters&id=227299

● Water . (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica . (Original work published 2006). Retrieved from http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com////?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000225487

● Water Filter Media- Your ticket to safer water [website ]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.best-water-filter-guide.com/filter- media.html

● What is Groundwater? . (n.d.). What is Groundwater? . Retrieved from The Groundwater Foundation website: http://www.groundwater.org//.html

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!