Katelyn Asmus, Brianna Haag, Amy Larsen, Julia Van Allen, & Maeve Whalen Mr. Christopher Deleon Hudson Middle School Hudson, Wisconsin

Transcription

1 Katelyn Asmus, Brianna Haag, Amy Larsen, Julia Van Allen, & Maeve Whalen Mr. Christopher Deleon Hudson Middle School Hudson, Wisconsin

2 Challenge The flyer for the WLMR Design challenge told us to create a Sustainable Water Recycling System, and that is exactly what we have done. Once our system is set up, it will work indefinitely.

3 Water Filtration Challenge Our Problem is; How can we recycle and purify waste water on the Moon? Our Hypothesis is; If we re-create a naturally occurring biological Water Purification System, like those found here on Earth, then we will be able to recycle and purify waste water on the Moon.

4 Waste Water Recipe The waste water that we purified was made according to the NASA WLMR Design Challenge recipe: Ammonia, Baking Soda, Table Salt, Vinegar, Baby Shampoo, and Water. Waste Water

5 Inspiration The inspiration for the main part of our project, our Algae Pond/Bio Filter, came from the NASA video NASA Now Microbes: Early Earth Ecosystems. The other parts of our project are proven methods of water purification that we researched: Sand/Gravel Filters, Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filters, Algae Filters, and Distillation.

6 Research Specialties In order to find a more efficient way to research water purification methods, we decided to split the different portions of our project into areas of specialty for each group member. Katelyn became the Algae Pond/Bio Filter Specialist. Bri decided to research Spirulina and Algae. Amy became the Distillation Authority. Julia became the Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filter Consultant. Maeve chose the title of Lunar Living Conditions and Space Costs Analysis Expert.

7 The Nitrogen Cycle The Nitrogen Cycle is an important part of our project, as it rids the waste water of ammonia. Ammonia Nitrites Nitrates

8 Building Our Project

9 Our Project Step One A: First the waste water enters our Water Purification System through a Sand/Gravel Filter to begin the process of removing the Shampoo, Baking Soda and any large particles in the waste water.

10 Our Project cont. Step One B: Next the waste water passes through the Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filter. This removes any last traces of Shampoo and Baking Soda. This is achieved by the water passing through the many small pores in the surface of the Activated Charcoal (Carbon).

11 Our Project cont. You may be wondering; What do you do when the Activated Charcoal (Carbon) becomes inactive? We considered this problem, and found the following solution. If you have a set of two or more Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filters, then you could swap one filter in while the other(s) heat, dry, and therefore reactivate.

12 Our Project cont. Step Two A: The next step in our system is an Algae Pond/Bio Filter. This is comprised of a tank into which the waste water flows from the bottom up. This tank contains Nitrosomonas, which break down the Ammonia into Nitrites, and another bacteria, Nitrobacter, which in turn turns the Nitrites into Nitrates which are absorbed by algae.

13 Building the Algae Pond/Bio Filter We used many different components in our Algae Pond/Bio Filter. Lava Rocks were used because they are very porous and let the water seep through. Sand was used because it creates an ideal habitat for microorganisms.

14 Our Project cont. Also in this tank are several different types of algae, including Spirulina (which is edible). The algae absorbs the Nitrates that are currently in the water. The algae also will help scrub the air by removing Carbon Dioxide and releasing Oxygen. According to Katelyn, the Authority in this area, once the waste water enters the Algae Pond/Bio Filter, it takes 24 hours before the waste water is ready to proceed through the system.

15 Our Project cont. Step Two B: After the Algae Pond/Bio Filter, we filter the water once more through an Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filter to remove algae from the waste water stream.

16 Our Project cont. Step Three A: Next the waste water passes into an Erlenmeyer Flask, where heat is applied to start the Distillation process. The water boils and turns into steam. This steam goes into a pipe leading from the flask.

17 Our Project cont. Step Three B: The steam travels through a tube that spirals downward through a board that we drilled holes into, cooling and condensing back into water that is now potable.

18 Step One A; Sand/Gravel Filter Step Three B; Condensation Hose Step Three A; Distillation Step One B; Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filter Clean Water Tank Step Two B; Activated Charcoal (Carbon) Filter Step Two A; Algae Pond/Algae Pond/Bio Filter

19 Our Data To test the levels of pollutants and ph in our system we used Quick Dip 5in1 Test Strips, and Quick Dip Ammonia Test Strips.

20 Our Data cont. This is a graph of the Conductivity of our waste water as our project progressed. We got this information using a Vernier Conductivity Probe.

21 Our Data cont. This is a graph of the Alkalinity and Ammonia of our project.

22 Final Results These are the final results of Alkalinity, Conductivity, and Ammonia.

23 Final Results These are the final results of ph, Nitrates, and Nitrites.

24 Lunar Living Conditions and Space Costs Analysis Maeve researched many different aspects of, as her title suggests, Lunar Living Conditions and Space Costs Analysis information. She found plenty of useful information, from the cost of sending one liter of water into space, to the new inflatable space habitats. Maeve also worked on figuring out how our system could become automated, and how long it would take for our system to become ready to filter water. While much of this information was not useful to our project, we ran across some facts that were beneficial to our project, such as how Nitrosomonas can remove ammonia to water.

25 Conclusion By re-creating a naturally occurring biological Water Purification System found here on Earth, we were able to recycle and purify simulated waste water. We believe this system could be used on the Moon. We believe that our system works because after our project was finished, all the tests showed that the water was safe to drink. We also showed our belief in this statement by drinking the final water.

26

27