Water Project

What this is about

This page is a collection of ideas & resources for DIY water analysis and treatment.

Links

• Public Lab - Community on environmental concerns and DIY techniques
• Discussion on GOSH forum

Drinking water

• Wikipedia: Drinking water – Definitions, statistics, links
• Competence center for drinking water at Eawag – Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
• Drinking water test kits

How do we know if it’s safe to drink? – Analysis

Does it look clear or muddy, coloured?

• look for particles (minerals, microplastic?) -> microscope?
• photometric -> green laser?

Does it contain “bad bugs”?

• simple bacterial testing (see card 7, “bad bugs”) http://www.waterscope.org

Does it contain harmful chemicals?

• lead, iron, copper
• arsenic
• chlorine and other water treatment chemicals
• pesticides and other agricultural chemicals
• salt -> conductivity

How can we make it safe to drink? – Treatment

• filter
• sterilise -> uv light, sunlight SODIS Solar Water Disinfection with PET bottles
• distill
• ...

What would a "minimal" water analysis and treatment kit look like to make drinking water from any water found?

The SGMK waterlab (/wetlab /aqualab?)

Water that was used for etching PCBs

How do we know if it’s safe to dispose of? – Analysis

• copper
• ...

How can we treat it so it's safe to dispose of? – Treatment

• iron sponge
• ...

Analysis

Photometric analysis

Photometry is a common method in chemical analytics. The intensity the color of a dye is measured visually or by an technical equipment. These dye can be produced by chemical reaction of the analyte with a specific reagent. The amount of analyte in the solution is proportional to the intensity of the color.

Beer–Lambert law

Nitrate analysis

Nitrat is a manure that is used in agriculture. Nitrat rich soils are fertile but can also pollute groundwater.

Nitrate Test

10 ml volumetric flask add - 9ml water - spatula zinc powder - 2 drops acetic acid 100% shake well add N=2 reagenz

add Nitrate standard shake well nitrate is reduced to nitrite and reacts to red color

Copper analysis

PAN solution 4x10-3 mol L-1

1 - (2-Pyridrylazo)- 2-naphthol

CuSO4 1g/l = 0.254 g/l Cu

In 10 ml Kolben geben

Solution with copper 1ml 4x10-3 mol L-1 PAN 0.1 – 2.0-mL of 0.2 mol L-1 sulfuric acid Fill uo to 10ml with Deion water

H2SO4 25%= 250g/l = 2.5 mol/l

add to 10ml volumetric flask

10 ml solution with copper (0.2 - 10 mg/l Cu) 1 T H2SO4 25% 0.1 ml PAN (5mg/10ml in Ethanol)

Conductivity measurement

Electrical Conductivity with Arduino

DIY conductivity sensor designs