Chlorine Concentration and Carbon Filter Lifespan
Medium
How long does a carbon filter last when the water has more chlorine? Water treatment plants add chlorine to kill germs. Carbon filters remove that chlorine, but they wear out over time.
You run water with different chlorine levels through activated carbon filters. You test the output water using DPD tablets that react with chlorine. You keep running water until the filter fails. Failure means the output chlorine matches the input.
Filters exposed to higher chlorine levels fail faster. Lower concentrations let the filter last much longer. The filters also recover some ability after sitting overnight.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the chlorine removal efficiency of an activated carbon filter will decrease more rapidly at higher concentrations of chlorine, and that the rate of failure will also be faster than at lower concentrations.
Method & Materials
You will attach a hose to a faucet filter attachment, add a calculated concentration of chlorine to a bucket of water, and then measure the chlorine removal efficiency of the filter as the water runs through it.
You will need two 20-liter buckets, a 1-meter hose, a faucet filter attachment, a screw hose clamp, a faucet adapter with washer, a hose connector, PVC coupling, two washers, five granular activated carbon replacement filters, a 1000-milliliter graduated cylinder, a 50-milliliter graduated cylinder, a 10-milliliter graduated cylinder, a bulb pipette, a chlorine test kit, 200 DPD 1 tablets, 200 DPD 3 tablets, tap water, distilled water, a bottle of bleach, a paint stirring stick, a camera with film, a pencil, a computer, and paper.
Results
The results of this experiment indicate that the filter did a better job of removing chlorine at lower concentrations than at higher concentrations. It was also interesting to note that the filter did a better job of removing chlorine after it sat overnight.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it helps us understand how well a carbon filter works at removing different amounts of chlorine in the water.
Also Consider
Experiment variations to consider include testing different types of filters and testing different concentrations of chlorine.
Full project details
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