The effect of copper (ll) sulfate and iron (II) sulfate on gas production, absorbance, and pH of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Today’s society requires copious amounts of energy to support millions of technology oriented lives. Hydrogen, a clean and inexpensive fuel, has piqued the interest of scientists, but it is often produced with environmentally harmful fossil fuels. A renewable alternative is the inefficient algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which produces hydrogen through photosynthesis. This research was aimed at comparing the hydrogen producing capabilities of C. reinhardtii cultures when enhanced with copper and iron. It was hypothesized that the addition of iron (II) sulfate would produce a higher amount of gas, a greater change in absorbance, and a lower pH. Absorbance (nm) was taken before the 20 mg/L of iron (II) sulfate and 0.8 mg/L of copper (II) sulfate solutions were added, and pH was taken afterwards. After 20 days, pH, absorbance, and gas (mL) produced were recorded. An ANOVA determined the values were insignificant for gas production, as p>alpha (F(2, 25) = 0.07, p=0.9290), showing that neither the copper nor the iron treatment had significant effects. For pH, palpha (F(2, 27) = 0.52, p=0.6031), leading to a similar conclusion as the gas production test. The hypothesis that adding iron would increase H2 production was not supported because two of the three tests yielded insignificant data.
Recommended Citation
Varanasi, Sreya, "The effect of copper (ll) sulfate and iron (II) sulfate on gas production, absorbance, and pH of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii" (2017). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 142.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2017/all/142
Location
Wall 206
Start Date
3-25-2017 9:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The effect of copper (ll) sulfate and iron (II) sulfate on gas production, absorbance, and pH of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Wall 206
Today’s society requires copious amounts of energy to support millions of technology oriented lives. Hydrogen, a clean and inexpensive fuel, has piqued the interest of scientists, but it is often produced with environmentally harmful fossil fuels. A renewable alternative is the inefficient algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which produces hydrogen through photosynthesis. This research was aimed at comparing the hydrogen producing capabilities of C. reinhardtii cultures when enhanced with copper and iron. It was hypothesized that the addition of iron (II) sulfate would produce a higher amount of gas, a greater change in absorbance, and a lower pH. Absorbance (nm) was taken before the 20 mg/L of iron (II) sulfate and 0.8 mg/L of copper (II) sulfate solutions were added, and pH was taken afterwards. After 20 days, pH, absorbance, and gas (mL) produced were recorded. An ANOVA determined the values were insignificant for gas production, as p>alpha (F(2, 25) = 0.07, p=0.9290), showing that neither the copper nor the iron treatment had significant effects. For pH, palpha (F(2, 27) = 0.52, p=0.6031), leading to a similar conclusion as the gas production test. The hypothesis that adding iron would increase H2 production was not supported because two of the three tests yielded insignificant data.
