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Arnav Bose
Arnav Bose
Optimizing Extraction of Chitin from Crustacean Shells
Optimizing Extraction of Chitin from Crustacean Shells
Lithium is one of the most common metals used in batteries, but it is not very sustainable. Once the batteries are used up, the Lithium cannot be reused, so there is a lot of wastage. Fortunately, there is a clear alternative. Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers on the planet, and Chitosan, a result of Chitin undergoing deacetylation, can be used as a biodegradable electrolyte for Zinc batteries. Once disposed of, the Chitosan electrolyte will completely break down within approximately five months, and the Zinc can be reused in another battery. As mentioned earlier, Chitin is highly abundant, being found in many places in nature such as the cell walls of fungi, shells of crustaceans and insects, and wings of butterflies. Because of this, there are many different potential sources of Chitin. In addition, there are many different methods for extracting Chitin from these sources, mainly divided into Biological methods and Chemical methods. The goal of this experiment is to determine the best combination of sources and methods to optimize the extraction of Chitin. During the experiment, different sources and methods will be tested, and the quality of the products will be compared. In addition, the practicality of the sources and methods will be weighed in order to determine which will perform the best on an industrial scale. According to previous research, biological methods using Lactic Acid-producing bacteria provided Chitin of superior quality, so it is to be expected that the experiment will provide similar results.
Roopshi Vohra
Roopshi Vohra
How Nutritive Versus Non-nutritive Sweeteners Affect Sleep Quantity in Drosophila Melanogaster
How Nutritive Versus Non-nutritive Sweeteners Affect Sleep Quantity in Drosophila Melanogaster
This research investigates how nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners affect sleep quantity in Drosophila melanogaster. Flies were sourced from Carolina Biological Supply and given two days to acclimate on a standard sucrose diet. A 50 g sucrose solution was prepared and split into three equal parts. One served as the control, while the others were mixed with 1.5 g of either aspartame or sucralose to create 5% synthetic sweetener solutions. After allowing 24 hours for full dissolution, flies were divided into three dietary groups. Their activity was recorded using an infrared USB camera across three consecutive days, with three total trials conducted. For data analysis, one random five-minute segment from each hour was selected to measure inactivity, operationally defined as sleep. Sleep patterns were then compared across all groups to assess the influence of each sweetener. The hypothesis predicted that exposure to aspartame and sucralose would lead to the most significant changes in sleep quantity relative to the sucrose-fed control group.
Grant Thorburn
Grant Thorburn
Predicting Salt Levels in Connecticut Freshwater Streams
Predicting Salt Levels in Connecticut Freshwater Streams
Human activity is increasing the amount of salt in freshwater. This project aims to model chloride and conductivity levels and predict levels under different conditions to assess the effectiveness of different solutions. Some anthropogenic sources of salts in freshwater include road de-icing salts, landfills, wastewater, fertilizers and weathering of concrete and building
materials. If it is possible to reduce salt levels through different methods of de-icing or other practices it could help preserve ecosystems and drinking water.
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