Environmental Sciences Science Fair Project
Solving two problems with Styro-Filter by reducing Styrofoam trash AND purifying water


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Project Information
Title: Solving two problems with Styro-Filter by reducing Styrofoam trash AND purifying water
Subject: Environmental Sciences
Subcategory: Water Purification / Recycling
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Engineering
Cost: Medium
Awards: The Scientific American Innovator Award
Affiliation: Google Science Fair
Year: 2016
Materials: Styrofoam waste
Techniques: Pyrolysis
Concepts: Recycling
Description: The objectives of this project are to reduce styrofoam trash and purifying water at the same time. A way was found to convert styrofoam waste (expanded polystyrene) into activated carbon that can be used to filter water. Because polystyrene is composed of over 92% carbon, it was hypothesized that it is possible to convert polystyrene into carbon. Polystyrene was pyrolyzed into carbon with over 75% efficiency. Finally, the effectiveness of the Styro-Filter was tested by conducting water quality tests, which confirmed that Styro-Filter was extremely effective at removing a wide variety of contaminants.
Link: www.googlesciencefair.com...
Background

Carbon Filtering

Carbon filtering is a method of filtering that uses a bed of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, using chemical adsorption.

Each particle, or granule, of carbon provides a large surface area, or pore structure, allowing contaminants the maximum possible exposure to the active sites within the filter media. One gram of activated carbon has a surface area in excess of 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft).

Activated carbon works via a process called adsorption, whereby pollutant molecules in the fluid to be treated are trapped inside the pore structure of the carbon substrate. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water purification, air filtering and industrial gas processing, for example the removal of siloxanes and hydrogen sulfide from biogas. It is also used in a number of other applications, including respirator masks, the purification of sugarcane and in the recovery of precious metals, especially gold. It is also used in cigarette filters.

Active charcoal carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, particles such as sediment, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), taste and odor from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic substances.

Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range from 0.5 to 50 micrometres. The particle size will be used as part of the filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed to the filter media for a longer amount of time.

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere. It involves the change of chemical composition and is irreversible.

Pyrolysis is most commonly used to the treatment of organic materials. It is one of the processes involved in charring wood. In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces volatile products and leaves a solid residue enriched in carbon, char. Extreme pyrolysis, which leaves mostly carbon as the residue, is called carbonization.

The process is used heavily in the chemical industry, for example, to produce ethylene, many forms of carbon, and other chemicals from petroleum, coal, and even wood, to produce coke from coal. Aspirational applications of pyrolysis would convert biomass into syngas and biochar, waste plastics back into usable oil, or waste into safely disposable substances.

Carbon and carbon-rich materials have desirable properties but are nonvolatile, even at high temperatures. Consequently, pyrolysis is used to produce many kinds of carbon; these can be used for fuel, as reagents in steelmaking (coke), and as structural materials.

Source: Wikipedia (All text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License)

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