Monday, August 2, 2010

Day 16 - Videos and Project Work

Over the weekend, I bought supplies for my project: an air pump, gang valves, airstones, and tubing. I will set up photobioreactors (bottles) with algae growing in each, then add amounts of four PPCPs - caffeine, DEET, triclosan, and estrogen (or ibuprofen) - in each bottle. I am using Chlorella vulgaris, a hardy strain of algae commonly used for wastewater nutrient removal. The ultimate long-term goal of the project is to find out the extent to which wastewater needs to be purified before it can be used to grow algae for biodiesel. The short-term goal is to discover the effects of these four PPCPs on algae growth.

Last week I found journal articles with data from all over the world, but I could not find data targeted to the United States. Today Julie helped me to locate relevant data on PPCP levels in the United States, and I will consolidate the data into a database to determine the amount of each chemical I will choose to expose the algae to. By conducting journal searches systematically and patiently, we uncovered much data that I was not able to uncover last week by myself. I've discovered that organization is absolutely key to attaining any results in a scientific procedure, from planning to final conclusions.

Cole and I have already filmed a video on constructing the frame for the Sea Perch to go on the Sea Perch website (the old video was unclear). Jordan wants us to make another set of videos to go along with the online instructions for making a water sampler. This entails constructing a new control box to use in the video and attach to the water sampler. We've begun working on the new control box and will hopefully be finished by tomorrow, in time for filming.

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