Spring 2011 Contributions (Invent Team - Stock Tank Mixing)
I have conducted a literature review of scientific journal articles and research reports on the properties of PACl and alum as coagulants for water treatment. Specifically, properties of interest that I focused my research on were viscosity and solubility, both important factors for mixing solutions of either material.
I developed the design for the mixing reactor (the "double bucket") that our team is currently creating. One benefit of using this mixing reactor is the fact that no matter what the inflow is (even if it is zero) , the coagulant will stay saturated. In addition, this design has the potential to achieve very high concentrations of coagulant (upwards of 300 grams/liter). This is an important benefit as it would allow operators to achieve necessary levels of coagulant concentration during treatment operations with smaller batch sizes. As of this wiki update, we are still collecting data and running experiments, but preliminary results show promise for this mixing reactor.
I worked on experimental procedures for testing the mixing reactor. I, along with my team members, conducted tests that examined the feasibility and efficiency of the mixing reactor. As stated above, preliminary results were promising.
I made multiple visits to supply stores to purchase materials necessary to our experiments. I also inquired at engineering supply firms on the feasibility of using industrial viscometers to experimentally measure the viscosity of alum solutions and PACl solutions.
In addition to the above, I have helped my team create reflection reports, the teach-in, and other course related documents.
This wiki is currently a work in progress.