Sewer Treatment Plants (Erica Brauer)

Clear, plastic water bottle with the bottom cut off ($10) – this will be inverted and become the main structure of your water purification system

Small, irregular-shaped rock ($2) – this will be dropped into the inverted plastic water bottle to prevent fine gravel or other materials from falling out through the neck of the bottle and at the same time allow effluent to flow out (instead of a small rock, students may want to wrap a piece of mosquito netting around the end of the bottle and rubber band it into place to prevent materials from falling out)

A 16cm high section of another water bottle with the top cut off ($5) – the bottom section of an additional water bottle will be used to collect the 200ml of effluent (hopefully clean water) from the filtering process

15cm x 15cm section of mosquito netting ($2) – used for screening out large pieces of debris (your teacher may provide a 4oz. plastic soufflé cup with the bottom cut out that can be used at the top of your filter to hold the mosquito netting in place and create a debris screen)

Fine Gravel (2cm @ $2 or 1cm @ $1) – allows water to flow when necessary, helps to block large pieces of materials, and allows for aeration

Coarse Sand (2cm @ $2 or 1cm @ $1) – filters polluted water while allowing good water flow, and allows for aeration

Fine Sand (2cm @ $2 or 1cm @ $1) – filters polluted water and removes small particles

Vermiculite (2cm @ $4 or 1cm @ $2 – has cation exchange capacity which allows it to remove chemical pollutants from the water; also serves as an absorbent

Activated Charcoal (2cm @ $4 or 1cm @ $2) – absorbs organic pollutants and chemicals, removes odors, and reduces unwanted coloration of the water

20cm x 20cm square of cotton fabric ($1 each) – filters out small particles and absorbs organic pollutants

Paper towels (Large piece $2 each or Small piece $1 each) – filters out very small particles and absorbs organic pollutants

Coffee filters of Paper Lab filters ($2 each) – filters out extremely small particles such as fine sand and silt

Vinegar (Ascetic acid) ($1 per milliter) – neutralizes basic water and helps restore the pH to 7.0

Alum or Aluminum Sulfate solution ($1 per 10ml) – removes dissolved solids such as calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and sodium bicarbonate from the water through the process of flocculation

Q-tips ($1 for 5) – used for skimming off floating scum

Chlorine Bleach or Sodium Hypochlorite solution ($1 per 5ml) – kills microscopic animals, protists, bacteria, and viruses; reduces discoloration of the water. Will be administer to the treated water after filtration and flocculation are finished

Rubber Bands – free

pH Paper – used for testing pH after filtration, flocculation, and chlorination have been completed. Use a few drop of vinegar to move the water from basic (pH 8,9, or 10) towards a neutral 7. (free) (You can also use universal indicator)

Living Microorganisms - No detectable microorganisms (15 points); a few detectable microorganisms (5 points); large numbers of detectable microorganisms (0 points)

Organic and Inorganic Debris – No detectable large debris (15 points); a small amount of detectable debris (5 points); a large amount of detectable debris (0 points)

Oil – No detectable oil residue (15 points); a tiny amount of oil residue (5 points); a large amount of oil residue (0 points)

Soil – No detectable sand or silt in the water or at the bottom of the purified water container (15 points); a tiny amount of sand or silt is visible (5 points); a large amount of sand or silt is visible (0 points)

Acid Waste – A pH level between 6 and 8 (15 points); a pH level between 4 and 6 or a pH level between 8 and 10 (5 points); a pH level less than 4 or greater than 10 (0 points)

Ammonia – No ammonia smell or 0 ppm of ammonia (15 points); slight ammonia smell or 1 ppm to 5 ppm of ammonia detected (5 points); strong smell of ammonia or greater than 5 ppm of ammonia detected (0 points)

Turbidity – Crystal clear water, no or very low turbidity, Nephelometric Turbidity Unit reading of 0 to 20 (20 points); slightly turbid water, transparent, NTU reading of 20 to 80 (15 points); moderately turbid water, translucent, NTU reading of 80 to 140 (5 points), very turbid water, dark, opaque, NTU reading above 140 (0 points)

Industrial Detergents – No bubbles or foaming when effluent sample is shaken (15 points); a few bubbles, slight foaming when effluent sample is shaken (5 points); large number of bubbles and significant foaming when effluent sample is shaken (0 points)

TDS (total dissolved solids such as calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate) – TDS level of 0 to 5 (15 points); TDS level of 5 to 30 (5 points); and a TDS rating higher than 30 (0 points).

Overall Odor – No odor (15 points); slight odor (5 points); and strong odor (0 points)

Color – Crystal clear, no tint or color (15 points); slight color of green, brown, yellow, or grey (5 points); strong color present (0 points)