Purifying Water: Which Method is Best?
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Let's find out which method of water purification is the most efficient! We'll be testing tap and Chicago River water for pH, chlorine, total hardness, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia nitrogen, copper, and iron. We'll also be testing the effectiveness of each method in removing E. coli B.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that distillation is the most effective method of water purification.
Method & Materials
You will test tap and river water for various contaminants, then put the samples through the processes of solar pasteurization, distillation, and filtration. You will also take a test tube with E. coli B bacteria and inoculate it in 4 separate jars of sterile water.
You will need titrants, reagents, meters, a solar box cooker, an activated carbon filter, 20 petri plates prepared with EMB agar, and nutrient broth.
Results
The results showed that distillation was the most effective method of water purification, followed by filtration and then solar pasteurization. Distillation was the most efficient in terms of quality, speed, and cost, and was also the best at killing bacteria.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting and unique because it tests the effectiveness of three different methods of water purification and compares the results.
Also Consider
Experiment variations to consider include testing different types of water, such as lake or ocean water, or testing different types of bacteria.
Full project details
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