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2000 Symposium Abstracts
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Potential use of hair to clean up oil spills. MARGUERITE BLIGNAUT.
Notre Dame Academy, 1699 Hilton Drive, Covington, KY 41011-2796.
Recent NASA studies have indicated that hair
may be a very useful tool in cleaning up oil spills. Hair adsorbs
the oil which means the oil collects under the surfaces of the hair fibers.
I used human hair in mesh bags and floated them on 10W40 oil-water mixtures.
After two days I removed the bags and let them dry. An increase of
mass indicated the amount of off adsorbed. I found that human hair
does remove oil from the water surface and that straight dark brown hair
seemed to be the most efficient.
Potential Use of Glass Tubing to Enhance Solar Pond Energy Collection
and Storage. MICHELLE KOVARIK. Notre Dame Academy, 1699 Hilton Drive,
Covington, KY 41011-2796.
The purpose of this research was to determine
the effect of glass tubing on solar energy collection by a salt-gradient
solar pond. The first investigation studied the effect of a glass
tubing cover on a prototype pond warming from room temperature. The
second investigated the effect on maintenance of an elevated initial temperature.
To carry out this research, a 28 cm x 28 cm x 89 cm tank was constructed.
Temperature probes were located 6.0 cm, 22 cm, 52 cm, and 80 cm beneath
the water's surface, and the tank was filled with salt solutions of increasing
salinity. Data was analyzed by calculating rates of temperature change
at significant time intervals. The first investigation indicated
that glass tubing aids in the initial warming of a solar pond and possibly
later heating. For the second investigation at 10 and 30 hours, the
glass tubing run showed a lower rate of heat loss. At 50 and 70 hours,
the control was maintaining temperature more efficiently. Possible
factors contributing to this behavior include condensation, convection
and conduction within the pond. This research indicates that glass
tubing may increase the efficiency of energy collection in solar ponds,
but further experimentation will be necessary before results are conclusive.
Oil absorbency of natural fibers. REBECCA S. ALLEN, duPont
Manual High School, 120 West Lee Street, Louisville, KY 40208.
The experiment was completed in three palls:
to test the fibers' oil absorption in salt water, on sand, and on concrete.
To test in salt water, 480 ml of salt water and 50 g of 10W30 motor oil
were placed into a container. The oil was allowed to settle for 15
minutes before 25 g of the fiber was added. Then fiber was added,
and allowed to sit for another 15 minutes to absorb. The water was
then separated from the oil using an oil and vinegar separator. The
fiber was separated from the oil using cheesecloth. The amount of
oil left was weighed and recorded.
To measure absorbency in sand, 200 g of playground
sand was placed in a tray with 50 g of 10W30 Motor Oil. The oil was
allowed to settle for 15 minutes before 25 g of one of the fibers was added.
Next, cheesecloth was laid over the oil covered sand. Then the fiber
was added, soaking up oil cheesecloth for another 15 minutes. The
cheesecloth containing the fiber and absorbed oil was then weighed, and
the amount of oil absorbed was calculated.
To test on concrete, 50 g of 10W30 motor oil
was added to the surface and left to settle for 15 minutes. Then
25 g of one of the fibers was added and allowed to sit for another 30 minutes.
The oil absorbed by the fiber was then scraped off the surface, weighed
and recorded. This process on each surface was again repeated three
times for each of the four fibers.
The results from the salt water found wheat
bran to absorb more oil from the salt water on average. The results
from the sand discovered oat bran to soak up the most oil. The final
results from on concrete showed wheat bran to be most absorbent.
All results were found to be contradictory to previous findings, but all
significant as proved by several ANOVA tests.
Studying the interaction between Floyd's Fork and Pope Lick Creek
(Stream Health Analysis). KUNAL KARLA* and STEVEN EDLIN, Louisville
Traditional Male High School, 4409 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40213.
Water pollution is a major problem concerning
the health of freshwater resources today. Water pollution has many
sources, including urban runoff, animal wastes, sewage, and fertilizers.
Controlling the amount of pollution in the water is vital to our resources
of freshwater, and therefore, proper waste management techniques are essential.
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the health of two streams
that are a part of the same watershed and to determine the adverse effects
one stream may have on another if it is unhealthy. The area studied
was where Pope Lick Creek channels into Floyd's Fork Stream. Floyd's
Fork was studied upstream before Pope Lick Creek runs into it and downstream
after the waters from Pope Lick Creek have been channeled. A section
of Pope Lick Creek was studied as well to help determine the effect, if
any, it would have on the health of Floyd's Fork. Pope Lick Creek
was found to be very polluted with the use of water testing, with the most
likely source of pollutants being from Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS)
because of the level of NPS pollutants found. Thus, the poor quality
of Pope Lick Creek had detrimental effects on Floyd's Fork, including a
poor Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) and a poor quality of water downstream.
Soil erosion: stop the slop. CAROL ANN HAMILTON and JESSICA
SCHUETTER, duPont Manual High School, 120 West Lee Street, Louisville,
KY 40208.
Soil erosion is an enormous problem all around
the globe. It may cause many detrimental problems for people in rural
and even urban areas. Three variables were tested: hay, grass, and
gravel. This experiment will explore the three previously listed
ways in which to protect land against devastating soil erosion.
Soil was placed inside a specially constructed
box and was packed down tightly. Each of the three variables, one
at a time, was placed over the soil, packed down tightly, and one quart
of water was placed over the variable and soil, simulating rain.
Each run-off was collected in ajar, labeled, and set aside. The variables,
including the control, had three trials preformed and recorded.
The results for "Soil Erosion" are summarized
in chart l "Soil Erosion Data," graph l "Soil Erosion Data," and graph
2 "Soil Erosion Averages." An ANOVA (analysis of variance) test was run
and the results of the ANOVA test showed that the results of the experiment
were significant at the .01 significance level.
After further analysis, it was found that
gravel, as was the hypothesis, was the best barrier from this disastrous
soil dilemma.
- [Abstract
Index]