Define the problem
We made a Gantt chart to create a timeline for the project. This helped us stay on track to finishing the project well and on time. We divided the responsibilities so that both of us would be responsible for the project and its components.
In regards to team responsibilities, I was responsible for collecting materials (such as the strainer) and building the filter. My partner Laila was responsible for buying materials and testing the turbidity. We both worked on the design of the filter and creating our weeblys.
Brainstorm
Research and Generate Ideas
Citation : "Top 5 Easiest DIY Water Filters You Can Make At Home." All About Water Filters. January 2017.
Pros: Uses readily available material that you can purchase anywhere, uses a recycled plastic bottle, gravel filters largest sediments and carbon filters smallest sediments. Cons: Must purchase materials, sand must be purified |
Citation : Ahsan, Farhan. "7 Homemade Water Filters You Can Make Easily." The Self Sufficient Living. The Self Sufficient Living, 22 October 2016.
Pros: This filter removes the most contaminants using heat to kill bacteria off. Cons: This filter requires a little too many materials and the use of heat could be an issue because fire can be hard to attain or form. |
Explore Possibilities
Based on these findings, we concluded that a material that we must have in our design is the activated carbon. We also concluded that the strainer and coffee filter should be used because they both caught larger sediments. We knew that each material would capture contaminants if they had the help of each other.
Select an approach
Develop a design proposal
Make a model or prototype
Test and evaluate the design using specifications
During this project, we dealt with a lot of trial and error. While we were constructing our design, we noticed that the coffee filters were not as durable as we had hoped. We had to change them often because the water was deteriorating them. We also realized that the spout where the clean water exited was too big, as pieces of sand and carbon were falling into the purified water. Finally, we came to the conclusion that less is more, and instead of using a big orange juice bottle, we opted for a water bottle.
Refine the design
In our first test, we received a result of 93.3 NTUs. We were excited because we knew that we were on the right track. In order to bring the value down further, we added a layer of sand. Unfortunately, our next result was 123.9 NTUs. We've been taught that we had to switch the coffee filter for a fresh one. That alteration resulted in a turbidity of 82.5 NTUs. We then decided to use a water bottle as our base and to switch out the carbon layer for a fresh one. Our result was 39.8 NTUs.
Communicate processes and results
Presentation showed in class.
Conclusion/Reflection
Through this project I learned that you can make dirty water clean and drinkable water with basically only resources that you can find in the environment. I also learned how to improve my project from our errors. We would look at our errors and think about where in the water filter the mistake was made and then we would it by rebuilding and then we would re-test until we got to an efficient water filter that meant the requirements. Next time I will make sure to have multiple ideas sketched out before building one. I think that my partner and I did and amazing job in this project as we had multiple errors but were able to fix them before the project was due. I think it would be a good idea to offer some sore of heat source as my partner and I saw that online as a possible water filter idea.