Blog Post 9: Working with what we've got!

Hello!

The “lab results” are back! This week I’ve been running wet-run tests on my prototype to see if it is truly able to remove microplastics from water.

My “lab” consists of one of those kiddie play microscopes with a mirror (it does magnify though!), a handful of slightly scratched slides, and a phone to take pictures. If the results look a little scruffy then, remember that they’ve been done with a elementary schooler’s kit, not a professional lab.

Anyways…we’ll just have to work with what we’ve got!

I ground some yellow PLA into microplastics with a file. These particles were mixed into 20 mL of water, and a small sample was taken at this stage to act as a control for future comparisons. The rest was combined with the usual: half a gram of magnetite and 1.25 mL of vegetable oil. I ran the mixture in my prototype for a total of 28 runs. Some ferrofluid remained stuck on the bottom of the container, but I don’t think they affected the water quality anymore at that point, since they weren’t floating in solution. Changes happened most quickly in the first 10 or so runs and decreased at an increasing pace over the next few runs, in a way much like a logistic curve approaching a limit. At the end of the runs, another sample was taken from the water.

Well, what are the results?

Here are some pictures of the control slide (pre-treatment) at 300x magnification:

The microplastic particles are clearly visible as yellow masses in the water.

And here are pictures from the post-treatment slide at the same magnification:

Surprisingly, from this preliminary testing, I haven’t been able to pick out any of those yellow particles in these pictures. The original paper from Fionn Ferreira said that this ferrofluid method had an 85% efficacy rate on average. There are a couple of “bubbles,” but other than that, the water has been restored.

Seeing those slides under the microscope brought me so much joy! It was incredibly satisfying to see how the work of the previous two months was coming together. To be honest, there were many, many times over the past few weeks when I was convinced that the stress was too much. I found myself seriously considering dropping Senior Project. However, my internal advisor, Ms. Abodouma, kept me in the grind through the lows, week after week, check-in after check-in. Thank you, Ms. Abodouma!

Oh, wait. It’s not even the end of Senior Project yet… I’ll have to save the rest of my shout-outs for the symposium.

I’ve already begun working on a neater version of this prototype by incorporating some 3D-printed parts. Here’s a sneak peek—

Hopefully I’ll be able to finish this version by next Friday!!

Bye for now! I’ve got to get back to it!

Chloe