39th Annual Student Research Conference
Effectiveness of Water Purification Methods on Metal Content as Determined by GFAAS
Cole J. Prentiss*, Tucker C. Maxwell, and Lyle Raine
Dr. Barbara Kramer, Faculty Mentor
Water quality does not change in a linear fashion: The presence of both biological and chemical contaminants can fluctuate wildly. While governments across the United States are working to replace old plumbing infrastructure like lead piping, the problem of heavy metal poisoning persists in many regions of the country. The most common method for a person to clean their drinking water is to bring it to a boil for at least 1 minute; however, this is more targeted towards biological contaminants like pathogens or other parasites. This experiment seeks to test the effects of various methods of water filtration and purification on specifically the heavy metal content of water using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry analysis in order to determine the most efficient methods of removing heavy metals from drinking water.
Keywords: Water, Filtration, Purification, Graphite, Furnace, Metals, Absorption, Spectrometry
Topic(s):Chemistry
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Session: -27
Location: Activities Room
Time: 2:30