Filtering Water

LS, Filter. 2015

In my STEAM course at GCE called Water, this Action Project made us construct our own filters and try to use it to clean river water. Before and after, we tested the pH level of the water to see if we observed a change.  I used various materials to build my filter that I found around my neighborhood. Some of the struggles involved with getting the materials were collecting them and bringing them back to my house. The sand and gravel were especially hard as I had to bring them on a bike. While I was filtering, I had some trouble with the water. Some of the sand got around the coffee filters and resulted in the sand coming through into the filtered water.

The way my filter works is very similar to ground water filtration. The smaller gaps in the sand filter out the smaller contaminants while the larger gaps in the gravel can help filter out the other things.

LS, Dirty Water. 2015.

Materials:

1. Soda bottle
2. Coffee filters
3. Gravel
4. Sand
5. Cup to catch water
6. pH tester
7. Scissors
8. Knife

To construct my filter I followed this procedure:

1. Cutting soda bottle off at the bottom
2. Poking small hole at the cap of the bottle
3. Putting in 2-3 coffee filters
4. Add about 3 cups gravel
5. Add about 3 cups sand

To test the water I followed this procedure:

1. Collect 500mL dirty water and test the pH
2. Pour the water into the filter. Wait for it to stop dripping before taking drip cup away.
3. Test the pH of the filtered water and record any noticeable visual observations.
4. Repeat this 2 more times with the water so that you will have put the same water through 3 times.

Data

	Visual Observations	Measured amount	pH Test 1	pH Test 2	Average pH
Before filtration:	Translucent, many particulates and very dirty	500mL	6.9	7.0	6.95
After 1st pass:	Translucent, still very dirty from sand at the bottom (came from filter)	275mL	7.0	7.4	7.2
After 2nd pass:	translucent, very sandy similar to the previous recording	250mL	7.5	7.6	7.55
After 3rd pass:	translucent, still dirty because of sand	250mL	7.5	7.6	7.55

I started off with putting in 250mL but the sand absorbed it and nothing came out. So, to overflow the sand with water and force it to come out on the bottom I added in an extra 250mL of water. The same thing happened during the filtration and thats why I ended up with less water than when I started.

pH Scale
0------------------------------------------------ 6.95--7----7.55-------------------------------------------14

The pH scale shows hot the water became more alkaline after the filtration process.

pH Change

Before filtration: 6.95

After filtration: 7.55

Change: 0.6

- log X = 0.6

X = 3.98107171

By filtering my water, I was able to make it almost 4 times more alkaline than it's unfiltered version!

Works Cited

"Water Purification: Improvised Charcoal Filter." Practical Primitive. Practical Primitive LLC, May

     2010. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

"How to Make a Water Filter." Wilderness Survival Skills. Wilderness-Survival-Skills.com, 2011.

     Web. 08 Oct. 2015.