Define a Problem
Project Management- Our basis for deciding who did each task was based on personal strengths and how our schedules were.
Brainstorm
Possible Ideas-
-Cotton Ball/Charcoal Combo
-Progressive coffee filters
-Green Styrofoam Filter
-Rocks/Gravel/Sand/Charcoal
-Cotton Ball/Charcoal Combo
-Progressive coffee filters
-Green Styrofoam Filter
-Rocks/Gravel/Sand/Charcoal
Moosejaw MSR Guardian Pump
PROS-
-Portable
-Highly Efficent
-Reliability
CONS-
-Incredibly Pricey ($350)
-Still a bit larger than our target size
Source: http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_MSR-Guardian-Purifier-Pump_10304112_10208_10000001_-1_
PROS-
-Portable
-Highly Efficent
-Reliability
CONS-
-Incredibly Pricey ($350)
-Still a bit larger than our target size
Source: http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_MSR-Guardian-Purifier-Pump_10304112_10208_10000001_-1_
Platypus GravityWorks Flow Filtration System
PROS-
-Eco-Friendly
-Reusable
-Durable
CONS-
-Still very pricey ($120)
-Requires some work to assemble
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Water-Filter-Reviews/Platypus-GravityWorks
PROS-
-Eco-Friendly
-Reusable
-Durable
CONS-
-Still very pricey ($120)
-Requires some work to assemble
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Water-Filter-Reviews/Platypus-GravityWorks
Brita 23 ounce Hard Sided Bottle
PROS-
-Very small
-Reasonably priced
-Reuseable
CONS-
-can only be used for the volume of water held in the bottle
-product reviews describe it as "easily breakable"
https://www.brita.com/water-bottles/
PROS-
-Very small
-Reasonably priced
-Reuseable
CONS-
-can only be used for the volume of water held in the bottle
-product reviews describe it as "easily breakable"
https://www.brita.com/water-bottles/
Explore Possibilities
Material : Compressed cotton rounds
-Absorbs water well
-Grabs impurities
-Not reusable
-Water will in some cases run around the pad
-Maxed out value +334.6 NTU's
-Absorbs water well
-Grabs impurities
-Not reusable
-Water will in some cases run around the pad
-Maxed out value +334.6 NTU's
Material : Felt
-Largely ineffective
-Impurities passed through it easily
-Water would soak to the edges of the material and leak out of filter
-Useless when soaked
-Maxed out value +336.4 NTU's
-Largely ineffective
-Impurities passed through it easily
-Water would soak to the edges of the material and leak out of filter
-Useless when soaked
-Maxed out value +336.4 NTU's
Material : Grill Charcoal
Pros:
-Easy to pour into filter system
-Reusable to the extreme
-Catches some impurities
-Fun to crush
Cons:
-A mess to get rid of after it has been used
-The tiny powder particles can sometimes get into your sample, raising your turbidity.
-Maxed our Value +336.4 NTU's
Pros:
-Easy to pour into filter system
-Reusable to the extreme
-Catches some impurities
-Fun to crush
Cons:
-A mess to get rid of after it has been used
-The tiny powder particles can sometimes get into your sample, raising your turbidity.
-Maxed our Value +336.4 NTU's
Material : Coffee filters
-Largely effective
-Lets water run through it, but catches large impurities like dirt
-Not much leakage when trimmed correctly
-Easy to shape and place where needed
-There's HUNDREDS OF THEM
-Oddly makes sense that it would work well, it has filter in the name
-Maxed Out Value +336.4 NTU's
-Largely effective
-Lets water run through it, but catches large impurities like dirt
-Not much leakage when trimmed correctly
-Easy to shape and place where needed
-There's HUNDREDS OF THEM
-Oddly makes sense that it would work well, it has filter in the name
-Maxed Out Value +336.4 NTU's
Material : Activated Charcoal
Pros:
-Eliminated nearly all impurities
-Reusable
-Doesn't get into filter sample
-Already in pebbled form
Cons:
-A mess to get rid of, like it inactivated other form
80-100 NTU's
Pros:
-Eliminated nearly all impurities
-Reusable
-Doesn't get into filter sample
-Already in pebbled form
Cons:
-A mess to get rid of, like it inactivated other form
80-100 NTU's
Select an Approach
Develop a Design Proposal
Test and Evaluate The Design Using Specifications
Prototype 1 (Coffee Filters/Grill Charcoal Powder/ Felt/Cotton in Water Bottle): 260-300 NTU's
Summary: As mentioned before, none of the materials could filter on their own, it was a matter of finding the best combination and order of the materials that gave any number of them strength. The felt made things difficult, as the water would soak to the edges and drip out the sides of the filter. The sponges were too oddly shapes, so water would run through or around them. The cotton did pretty good, it seemed to do its job well, as did the charcoal. The bottle shape allows for too much water to run down the sides around the filtering material. Will test with different shapes. May consider using green Styrofoam.
Summary: As mentioned before, none of the materials could filter on their own, it was a matter of finding the best combination and order of the materials that gave any number of them strength. The felt made things difficult, as the water would soak to the edges and drip out the sides of the filter. The sponges were too oddly shapes, so water would run through or around them. The cotton did pretty good, it seemed to do its job well, as did the charcoal. The bottle shape allows for too much water to run down the sides around the filtering material. Will test with different shapes. May consider using green Styrofoam.
Refine The Design
Prototype 2 (Coffee Filters/Sponges/Artificial Cotton in Water Bottle): 100-150 NTU's
Prototype 3 (Coffee Filters/Activated Charcoal in Funnel): 50-70 NTU's
The shape of the filter played a big role. In the end, our group used a funnel to filter the water, a feature exclusive to our filter. The funnel shape made the water filter through the materials instead of around them like many of the water bottles did. As far as materials, charcoal seems to be a universally agreed upon method of filtering water (if the right kind is used), just so long as it is at the bottom not taking the initial filtering load. Coffee filters are a good starting and ending material, as they can be used to filter large amounts of impurities out, as well as the tiniest particles.
Prototype 3 (Coffee Filters/Activated Charcoal in Funnel): 50-70 NTU's
The shape of the filter played a big role. In the end, our group used a funnel to filter the water, a feature exclusive to our filter. The funnel shape made the water filter through the materials instead of around them like many of the water bottles did. As far as materials, charcoal seems to be a universally agreed upon method of filtering water (if the right kind is used), just so long as it is at the bottom not taking the initial filtering load. Coffee filters are a good starting and ending material, as they can be used to filter large amounts of impurities out, as well as the tiniest particles.
Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I learned a lot about the components of a typical water filtration system that I don't think I would have learned otherwise. I think if I could go back and do the project I would have searched for more "out of the box" materials for testing. The coffee filters definitely were an easy out and I would have liked to challenge myself with having to use something more atypical as far as filtration goes. I think that Josh and I worked incredibly well as a team. Where one of us had a weakness, the other had a strength. If either of us reached a point where we weren't making progress, the other kept it going. I think that the only thing that could improve this project for next year is maybe add in a sustainability aspect, which at the same time would kind of cancel out the reliance on the coffee filters and you would probably see some more unique results. Maybe even add an aesthetics aspect as a challenge!