Louis Chapman,  “Modified Material for Removal of Ammonia from Water”
Mentor: Marica Silva, Global Water Center

Modern practices in agriculture and industry lead to large volumes of nutrient discharge into lakes and rivers. When rivers become overloaded with nutrients, they undergo expedited eutrophication, a process which leads to the proliferation of algae and threatens the health of our ecosystem.  Wherever possible, we use available technologies to remove the contaminants from the run-off in problem locations.  Current methods of ammonia filtration such as nitrification and oxidation require installation of large tanks at the point of filtration.  This often incurs prohibitive costs and makes these methods unfit for wide-scale application.  Furthermore, these options cannot be implemented in colder climates, necessitating the development of a new filtration mechanism. Other alternative methods, such as chlorination, perform best in the absence of other contaminants.  This project focuses on developing a modification to a natural porous material which improves its adsorptive capacity and ammonia selectivity. The chosen material can operate in cooler climates where nitrification cannot.  It can be engineered to accept ammonia over other contaminants, making it a good choice for use in waters with more than one pollutant. This study aims to optimize this material’s adsorptive capacity and ensure its suitability for environmental applications.

Synchronous Presentation April 16th at 1:30pm

Phone Conference ID: 327 496 283#