The Effect Of The Duration Of Sonication On The Adsorption Capacity Of Food Waste Hydrochar For Atrazine /

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

10th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Mentored

Mentor

Mentor: Dr Joseph Flora; Univeristy of South Carolina

Written Paper Award

2nd Place

Abstract

The consumption of water that has been contaminated by pesticides and herbicides can cause people to be in danger of various health risks, such as reproductive disorders, cancers, birth defects, and cardiovascular issues. To avoid putting people at risk of these issues, hydrochar is used in soil to adsorb contaminants and keep them from entering water. The purpose of this experiment was to improve the adsorptive capacity of food waste hydrochar through sonication. It was hypothesized that sonicating food waste hydrochar for 40 minutes will be more effective in increasing adsorptive capacity than 20 minutes, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes. The hydrochar was sonicated in beakers and exposed to atrazine, a commonly used herbicide, in vials. After two weeks, the final solutions were measured for the concentration of atrazine and the adsorptive capacity of the hydrochar was calculated. The results of the mean adsorptive capacity were that hydrochar sonicated for 0 minutes was 0.22 mg/g, 5 minutes and 10 minutes were 0.25 mg/g, 20 minutes was 0.27 mg/g, and 40 minutes was 0.31 mg/g. The variation between the hydrochar was significant, as indicated by ANOVA, F(4,15)=54.64047, p<0.05. A Tukey test indicated that there was a significant difference between the hydrochar sonicated for 0 minutes and the hydrochar sonicated for 40 minutes. It was concluded that sonicating the hydrochar for 40 minutes significantly improved adsorptive capacity, thus making the hydrochar more efficient and effective.

Location

Owens 208

Start Date

4-16-2016 10:00 AM

COinS
 
Apr 16th, 10:00 AM

The Effect Of The Duration Of Sonication On The Adsorption Capacity Of Food Waste Hydrochar For Atrazine /

Owens 208

The consumption of water that has been contaminated by pesticides and herbicides can cause people to be in danger of various health risks, such as reproductive disorders, cancers, birth defects, and cardiovascular issues. To avoid putting people at risk of these issues, hydrochar is used in soil to adsorb contaminants and keep them from entering water. The purpose of this experiment was to improve the adsorptive capacity of food waste hydrochar through sonication. It was hypothesized that sonicating food waste hydrochar for 40 minutes will be more effective in increasing adsorptive capacity than 20 minutes, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes. The hydrochar was sonicated in beakers and exposed to atrazine, a commonly used herbicide, in vials. After two weeks, the final solutions were measured for the concentration of atrazine and the adsorptive capacity of the hydrochar was calculated. The results of the mean adsorptive capacity were that hydrochar sonicated for 0 minutes was 0.22 mg/g, 5 minutes and 10 minutes were 0.25 mg/g, 20 minutes was 0.27 mg/g, and 40 minutes was 0.31 mg/g. The variation between the hydrochar was significant, as indicated by ANOVA, F(4,15)=54.64047, p<0.05. A Tukey test indicated that there was a significant difference between the hydrochar sonicated for 0 minutes and the hydrochar sonicated for 40 minutes. It was concluded that sonicating the hydrochar for 40 minutes significantly improved adsorptive capacity, thus making the hydrochar more efficient and effective.