The Effect of Temperature on the Filtration Ability of Cellulose Acetate Membranes
The research conducted involved finding an alternative method for water filtration that would make safe drinking water more readily available worldwide. This experiment tested the effect of water temperature on the mass amount of color pigment that was filtered out by a cellulose acetate membrane. The temperatures of the water samples were tested at 15C, 25C, and 40C, and five trials at each temperature were conducted, as well as five control trials. The water samples were first heated or cooled to the desired temperature and then red water color pigment was added to the sample. The sample was then poured through the membrane, and pigment was filtered out of the water. The amount of pigment left on top of the membrane was massed and then compared to the initial mass of the pigment. It was hypothesized that the membrane would perform at its peak filtration ability at the 25C temperature.
After the experiment was conducted, it was found that the trials using the water sample at the highest temperature of 40C allowed for the membrane to have a higher filtration capacity, and the hypothesis was rejected. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data collected. For the 15C trials, an average of 0.0944 grams or 23.4217% of pigment was filtered out by the membrane. For the 25C trials, 0.1993 grams or 36.0833% was filtered, and for the 40C trials, 0.2006 grams or 49.9319% was filtered out. The data for the 15C trials showed that in comparison to the other warmer trials, the membrane filtered out a smaller mass amount of pigment at the colder temperature. The data for the 25C and 40C trials were very similar, which could have been caused by the outlier in the 25C trials.
Research Conducted By:
Hannah Rehman
Fraser High School
Paige Showers
Fraser High School
Warren Consolidated Schools