Vítor Garcia
Course: H2O
Action Project 2
Water Filter Reflection
For this second action project at GCE, we learned about the acidity/basic measure named pH. The measure pH stands for potential hydrogen, and pH can come up to a very basic, or alkaline, point of 14, all the way down to -25, 10^19 times more acidic than sulfur! After learning the drinkable level of water, which would be a neutral 6.5 to 8.5 (preferably 7), an assignment was given for us to build a water filter. Building a water filter was though work because materials were in many places besides the actual filter, but the result after made me proud to know I made one that works at a good efficient level.
There are different parts that all contribute to the filter itself, such as the different layers. The materials I used were cotton balls, to apply at the end of bottle so what’s inside (besides the water) wouldn’t come out, then inserting the sand after that because the finer the filter, the lower it should be. Then came fine gravel and afterwards, larger gravel. The water was collected from local source that came from natural occurrences/landmarks. Some of the water was gotten from a fountain that pumped water from Lake Michigan, and a rainwater birdbath right in my backyard. Potting soil was also added to the collected water to simulate dirt at a water bed or river floor.
The process was similar to what’s displayed above but was different in terms of placement of ingredients, sand was above the cotton ball, then fine gravel, and then the larger pieces of gravel up on top.The water itself was very cloudy and murky passed through my custom filter, you could see how much clearer it got. Before filtering, its pH level was between 5 or 6. These numbers are low, considering that drinkable water, safe for human consumption, needs to fall between 6.5 and 8.5, with 1 being the most acidic and 10 being the most basic. After the filtration, the pH was between 6 and 7. After adding activated charcoal, I measured pH level again, and it was 7, so the water became more basic after filtration. A pH of 7 is neutral and also potable, one of the best measures of pH for water.
In conclusion, my water filter worked, well. A soda bottle cut in half with the ingredients mentioned above, and placed in the manner they were, can make an effective water filter.
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