Wat-er We Drinking?
In our final project of junior year, we were met with the following question: How can we use Chemistry to support the chemical treatment of wastewater and various other clean water initiatives? My group, with special permission from our teacher, decided to guide the project in a completely different direction: we wanted to take the concept of a resource and space efficient vertical garden and add water efficient elements to the design. We used our knowledge of construction from past projects like the Passive Solar Design and combined it with our understanding of chemistry be innovative and hopefully show the world that simple adjustments to our daily lives can help us create a sustainable and eco-friendly existence.
Content
The majority of the chemistry involved in this project was relative to water dynamics and the natural processes of plants.
Chelation
Chelates (come from soil fungus) break apart minerals in the ground. They will be added to the drip irrigation system to allow plants to absorb nutrients through their roots. Plant roots use osmosis to absorb water and minerals from the soil, which is only allowed after the minerals go through chelation. Chelation is the process in which chelates break apart minerals in the soil, and attach a ligand (an organic compound) to the minerals, making it organic. Plant roots cannot absorb inorganic minerals, so the the process of chelation is imperative. By knowing how chelation works, we can incorporate efficiency of water, as well as strengthen our understanding of the plants we are trying to grow.
Photosynthesis
6CO2 + Light + 6H2O ----> C6H1206 + 602
Carbon Dioxide, Water, and Light yield Glucose and Oxygen
CO2 enters the stomata on the bottom of leaves.
By understanding photosynthesis we were able to recognize what design elements were crucial to the vertical garden, such as Plexiglas housing to allow sunlight to pass through the walls and roof of the structure and supply the plants inside with the catalyst for this chemical process.
Osmosis
A process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane.
Expanding our knowledge of the phenomena of osmosis let us articulate the ideas we had for the vertical garden design during the creation period of the project, because it was relevant in deciding the set up of the plants and the methods by which we would deliver nutrients to the plants.
Reflection
As the last project of the school year, this went well for me. I got to develop more of the skills we have learned thus far, and gain a deeper understanding of what goes in to a design process. The end result and presentation turned out well, while the dedication of the group to creating the best possible design was lacking at times. I learned how to take charge of the project when my group members were not around to support its development. This led me to understand more about all aspects of project development, especially the technical pieces and scientific content. I learned how to communicate my ideas in a more coherent way when we had to bring the abstract concepts of our imagination to fruition. This showed in the actual design itself, and our in-class presentation. I could have spent more time developing the most important pieces of the project, such as the specifics of our water reclaim design and how we would reincorporate used water back into the system. The lack of time spent in this area was not necessarily the result of my lack of focus, but rather our failure to work as a team to see the project through and recognize what specifics we hadn't considered. I also wish that I had done a better job of involving my teammates in the development of our project by letting them know what was still needed and how they could help. If I had taken the time to engage with them more over the project, our teamwork would have been much stronger and I can guarantee our final product would be more efficient and comprehensive.
As the last project of the school year, this went well for me. I got to develop more of the skills we have learned thus far, and gain a deeper understanding of what goes in to a design process. The end result and presentation turned out well, while the dedication of the group to creating the best possible design was lacking at times. I learned how to take charge of the project when my group members were not around to support its development. This led me to understand more about all aspects of project development, especially the technical pieces and scientific content. I learned how to communicate my ideas in a more coherent way when we had to bring the abstract concepts of our imagination to fruition. This showed in the actual design itself, and our in-class presentation. I could have spent more time developing the most important pieces of the project, such as the specifics of our water reclaim design and how we would reincorporate used water back into the system. The lack of time spent in this area was not necessarily the result of my lack of focus, but rather our failure to work as a team to see the project through and recognize what specifics we hadn't considered. I also wish that I had done a better job of involving my teammates in the development of our project by letting them know what was still needed and how they could help. If I had taken the time to engage with them more over the project, our teamwork would have been much stronger and I can guarantee our final product would be more efficient and comprehensive.