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

When etching PCB waste with high copper concentration is produced. This waste is highly toxic to the aquatic environment. It is possible to remove the copper from the solution through a chemical process but the resulting solution has to be tested for remaining copper.

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