Research Project 03 09 2023 120 620 Introduction Gabriela Orosco and Sara Pellegrino Water pollution has been known to have harmful effects on not only the water quality but also the ecosystem and health of those who consume polluted water It creates water insecurity for those who don t have the means to purchase alternatives to faucet water Scientists have been able to come up with ways to fix the quality of the earths drinking water with items like Nanomaterials as they have been studied to be efficient in dye removal due to their chemical makeup 1 Nanomaterials have been shown to reduce toxic compounds that have assisted in better water quality and lower the chance of health advisories by removing some bacteria and viruses at a cost effective rate 2 Experimental Summary This lab started with conducting the first part in week one of the experiment where the Magnetized and Unmagnetized Zeolites are produced First a split cork and a three prong clamp were to be set up on a ring stand with a thermometer This contraption was set up to be above a hot plate that doubled as a stirrer To start with the making of the Unmagnetized Zeolite 50 mL of 1 0M NaOH Solution was dispensed into a 250 mL beaker with a magnetic stir bar and then placed onto the hotplate stirrer Once placed on the hotplate stirrer 3 75 grams of sodium aluminate was added to the solution in the 250 mL beaker The thermometer was then lowered and placed into the solution making sure it was not touching the glass as that could affect the temperature reading This mixture was then heated and the stirrer was turned on to make sure the sodium aluminate was completely dissolved While this mixture is heating and being stirred a 150 mL beaker was grabbed and 50 mL of distilled water was added along with 2 65 grams of sodium silicate This solution was stirred with a stir rod and placed onto a second hot plate where the stirring continued After both solutions came to a gentle boil the sodium silicate solution was slowly poured into the sodium aluminate solution using the beaker tongs as the beakers were hot This reaction was kept on one of the hot plates for 60 minutes while being kept at a constant temperature of 90 degrees Celsius and was stirred with the stir bar to prevent the mixture from lumping Once the 60 minutes had passed the mixture cooled for 5 minutes before placing equal amounts into two centrifuge tubes These tubes were then balanced in a centrifuge and the machine was started with the settings being 5000 rpm for 10 minutes After the time was up deionized water was added into both tubes to the 10 mL mark and placed back into the machine for another 10 minutes After the 10 minutes was up the access deionized water was drain and Primary Author the remaining mixture that was left in the centrifuge tube was decanted into a Petri dish that served as a drying container Once every last bit was removed and decanted the glassware and tubes were all diluted with HCL to get the remaining residue While the unmagnetized zeolites were being made on one side of the room the other side of the room were conducting the experiment to produce the magnetized zeolites To start the production of the magnetized zeolites the same split cork and a three prong clamp was set up on a ring stand with a thermometer above the hot plate stirrer The process where 50 ml of 1 0M NaOH Solution being dispensed into a 250 mL beaker with a magnetic stir bar on the hotplate stirrer was completed the same Once this set up and placed on the hotplate stirrer 3 75 grams of sodium aluminate was added to the solution in the 250 mL beaker with the thermometer on the ring stand lowered into the solution This mixture was then heated with the stirrer being turned on to make sure the sodium aluminate was completely dissolved While this mixture is heating and being stirred a 150 mL beaker was grabbed and 50 mL of distilled water was added along with 2 65 grams of sodium silicate This solution was stirred with a stir rod and placed onto a second hot plate where the stirring continued After both solutions came to a gentle boil the sodium silicate solution was slowly poured into the sodium aluminate solution using the beaker tongs After this solution was stirred for 60 minutes at a constant temperature of 90 degrees Celsius 0 78 grams of FeCl3 and 0 39 grams of FeSO4 x 7H2O was added into the solution and was continued to be stirred Once the iron components were dissolved the heat was turned off and the mixture cooled for 5 minutes After cooling down the mixture was equally split into centrifuge tubes that were then balanced in a centrifuge at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes After the time was up deionized water was added into both tubes to the 10 mL mark and placed back into the machine for another 10 minutes After the 10 minutes was up the access deionized water was drain and the remaining mixture that was left in the centrifuge tube was decanted into a Petri dish to dry All glassware was then cleaned with HCl solution to remove the residue These zeolites were made a week in advance in order to insure they would be dry for the next week when we take these components a step forward to test their dye removing abilities along with activated charcoal To start off week twos experiment of testing the dye removing abilities of three sequestration agents Activated Charcoal Magnetized Zeolites and Unmagnetized Zeolites three dilutions were prepared using a 10 mL Volumetric flask filled with 10 mL of stock solution To prepare the first dilution at 50 5 mL of stock solution from the first 10 mL Volumetric flask was suctioned out using a serological pipet and dispensed into another 10 mL Volumetric flask with 5 mL of deionized water For the second dilution at 25 5 mL of 50 diluted stock solution was suctioned from the second 10mL Volumetric flask and placed into a third with 5 mL of deionized water For the third and final dilution at 12 5 5 mL of the 25 diluted stock solution was suctioned out with a serological pipet and dispensed into a fourth 10 mL Volumetric flask with 5 mL of deionized water These volumetric flasks were then all capped off with a stopper and inverted three times to ensure they were mixed evenly After mixing the dilutions they were placed into cuvettes so they could be placed in the spectrophotometer later on in the experiment 0 3112 grams of Magnetized Zeolite was weighted out and placed in a mortar and pestle to crush into a powder like consistency In a separate