Application of Magnetic Flux and Electric Field to the Recycling and Deodorization of Seawater: A Three Year Study

Overview

Objectives/Goals Most modern water treatment systems utilize carbon filters, chemicals, and physical processes to deodorize and remove particles, but this project applies electrodes and magnetic flux to try to accomplish these goals. Methods/Materials 2 water-recycling models were designed and built, each consisting of a basin with an untreated seawater source, a 5-feet tall plastic soda bottle tunnel perforated with a 9x9 matrix of 1mm-diameter holes on opposing sides of each soda bottle segment, a container for condensation to take place, and tubes to allow the final water condensation to effectively flow out of the systems. Having connected all these components together, we then placed an electrode into each system and applied a 115-V power supply. A magnet stand was added to the circumference of the model. To initiate vaporization, a water heater was placed into the untreated seawater source for tens days. As a control, trials were experimented without the magnet stand and electrode during the same time. Each day, temperatures were measured and the external conditions of the models were observed. Results After the electromagnetic treatment, Concentration levels dropped:Carbon dioxide dropped from 2568 to 69 ppm, Nitrate dropped from 39 to 1.3 ppm, iron content dropped from 310 to 2.3 ppm, sulfate dropped from 298,098 to 110 ppm, and manganese content dropped from 0.007 to 0.006 ppm. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the water samples treated without electromagnetism due to the distillation, but the same variables tested did not improve as much as that of the water treated with electromagnetism. Conclusions/Discussion This study demonstrated that the application of the right-hand rule of magnetic flux and the inclusion of electrodes produced cleaner and deodorized water, based on the reduction in the levels of carbon dioxide, fluoride, manganese, phosphourus, chloride, salts, nitrates, iron and sulfates, major odor-producing agents of seawater. Coastal waters bear the brunt of our enormous inputs of wastes into the oceans, causing widespread pollution of beaches, proliferation of human viruses, and harmful algal blooms (HABs) which may lead to dead zones. Therefore, it is imperative that seawater be purified through cost-effective and efficient means, and this investigation is considered to be a small step towards this goal.

Competition history

• CSEF 2007 Environmental Engineering · Entry S0915

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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