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Cattail Fluff Solution for Phosphorus Reduction in Water Runoff

Mitigate phosphorus in water runoff using cattail fluff as an erosion control wattle filler to reduce sediment and turbidity. Explore its ecological benefits and test its effectiveness against traditional fibers like wheat straw and coconut coir.

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Cattail Fluff Solution for Phosphorus Reduction in Water Runoff

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  1. Mitigating Phosphorous in Water RunoffExpanding the Cattail Solution JACK PAWLOWICZ 9th grade Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School

  2. SEEING A PROBLEM • EPA begins to identify water ecosystem imbalance in the early 1990s • Caused by excessive algae growth leading to eutrophication of streams, lakes, ponds, reservoirs and other bodies of freshwater • Phosphorous - nutrient most responsible for excessive algae growth • Natural sources of elevated phosphorous - soil and rocks • Phosphorous elevated by: • water treatment plants lawn and crop fertilizer • failing septic systems animal manure storage • industrial waste drained wetlands • Human source studied in this experiment - disturbed land area from industrial, commercial and residential development

  3. LAND DEVELOPMENT and WATER RUNOFF Storm water can carry pollutants, sediment, debris and other chemicals to surrounding waterways causing water quality impairment. Changes in hydrology and water quality from volume of runoff, amount of sediment, turbidity and chemicals: ● animal habitat modification and loss ● increased flooding ● decreased aquatic biodiversity ● increased land erosion The EPA has standards that contractors must meet for mitigation of sediment and turbidity and recommendations regarding several chemicals, including phosphorous

  4. PREVIOUS RESEARCH PJAS 2016 PJAS 2017 Cattails: Putting a Common Plant to Work Experiment: Evaluate if cattail fluff was superior to classic wattle filler fiber (coconut coir, wheat straw) at sediment control and reducing turbidity Conclusion:Cattail fluff was the superior filler fiber at reducing sediment and turbidity It’s All Downhill From Here: Cattail Fluff as Erosion Control Experiment: Evaluate in a field setting the results of the 2016 PJAS experiment by simulating natural rainfall and using more sophisticated instrumentation to measure runoff volume and turbidity Conclusion: Cattail fluff was the fiber that allowed the least turbid and lowest volume ofrunoff

  5. WHY CATTAIL FLUFF? In Published Research from 2008: The Bulrush Solution by Dirk Strauss and Bioabsorption of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution, Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology Cattail fluff (the flower of the bullrush plant) used to clean up oil spill ● holds 20 times its weight in oil ● held together well over time ● reuseable Ecoclogical and Economic benefits exist if this plentiful and renewable, ecologically friendly fiber can be used in erosion control surrounding construction sites

  6. NULL HYPOTHESIS There will be no difference between the amount of phosphorous to pass through a cattail fluff erosion control wattlethan through traditional filler fibers of wheat straw and coconut coir. HYPOTHESIS There will be a lesser amount of phosphorous that passes through a cattail fluff erosion control wattlethan through traditional filler fibers of wheat straw and coconut coir.

  7. VARIABLES CONTROL VARIABLES: amount of soil, set up of the water run, amount of phosphorous in the water solution passed through the wattle, amount of solution passed through the wattle MANIPULATING VARIABLES: filler fiber used in the erosion control wattle: cattail fluff, coconut coir and wheat straw RESPONDING VARIABLE: the amount of phosphorous in the runoff water

  8. THE ROLE OF PHOSPHOROUS Phosphorous - critical nutrient required for ALL lifeforms ● most common as phosphate (PO4) ● major role in formation of DNA ● used for cellular energy ● used in formation of plant cell walls Excessive phosphorous – common in storm water runoff Controlling factor -rate of algae and aquatic plant reproduction Higher levels = faster reproduction

  9. EUTROPHICATION Death of fish, invertebrates and other aquatic animals Algae Blooms and low dissolved oxygen in bodies of freshwater Higher than normal concentration of phosphorous in runoff water Disruption of the aquatic food web in inland freshwater lakes, rivers, streams and reservoirs Phosphorous is needed in low quantities in healthy freshwater bodies. A small increasebegins the path to eutrophication

  10. MATERIALS • polypropylene mesh netting • cattail fluff • coconut coir • wheat straw • 18 collection cups • micropipette • 180 g topsoil • spring water • gloves • lab goggles • silicone sealant • tin ductwork, panel nails, hammer and tin snips • flat 1” thick wooden board • phosphorous standard solution 1000mg/L • phosphorous (Orthophosphate Reactive) Test Kit model PO-19A by Hach

  11. PROCEDURE • Secure 3 tin channels to the wood and seal with silicone • Sew 18 polypropylene mesh wattle tubes and fill 6 for each filler fiber • Secure wattle in the channel, place 10 g of topsoil above wattle • Micropipette 3mL stock phosphorous solution into 3L of spring water to make 6mg/L solution • Control trial - run1L of spring water through each wattle channel • Experimental trial - pass 1L of 6mg/L solution through each wattle channel • Repeat experimental trial 5 times with a new wattle each time • Collect runoff water in a collection cup for each trial • Using a Hach Orthophosphate Field Test Kit, test water from control trial and each experimental trial

  12. MAKING THE WATTLES and WATER RUNS

  13. MEASURING PHOSPHOROUS

  14. DATA Control Run: Spring water passed through dirt and wattle Experimental Runs: 6mg/L phosphorous solution passed through dirt and wattle Phosphorous in Runoff Water (mg/mL)

  15. RESULTS Level of Phosphorous in Runoff Water Phosphorous in mg/L p = 0.018 Wattle Filler Fiber

  16. ANALYSIS • ANOVA – showed the amount of phosphorous in runoff from the Coconut Coir (CC) and Wheat Straw (WS) wattles was significantly larger than from the Cattail Fluff (CF) wattle between all and head to head • p(all) = 0.018 < 0.05 • p(cc) = 0.012 < 0.05 • p(ws) = 0.016 < 0.05 • THE NULL HYPOTHESIS IS REJECTED

  17. ANALYSIS Critical Difference established by Dunnett’s Test further supports the results of the experiment as statistically significant. Critical Difference 2.349 < (CC - CF)3.6 Critical Difference 2.349 < (WS - CF)2.6 THE NULL HYPOTHESIS IS REJECTED

  18. RESULTS DISCUSSION What is the value of the CONTROL TRIAL? Amount of phosphorous in runoff shows it exists in topsoil that is NOT from a construction or industrial site Difference in phosphorous in runoff cannot support superior filtration of cattail fiber - chemical content of topsoil is not and cannot be a controlled This value is important because the level of phosphorous in the trial solution is constant. Subtracting the control value of runoff phosphorous from the experimental values of runoff phosphorous gives a value that belongs to the fiber alone, not the topsoil. Differences in the experimental runoff can confidently be attributed to the fiber filtration ability

  19. CONCLUSION THE HYPOTHESIS that there will be a lesser amount of phosphorous that passes through a cattail fluff erosion control wattlethan through traditional filler fibers of wheat straw and coconut coir WAS SUPPORTED.

  20. MODIFICATIONS Tighter control of the content of the topsoil used. Small improvements in technique using the Orthophosphate Test Kit - light source and use of a vortex to mix the runoff samples and reagents Further experimentation: use of the cattail fiber in industrial absorption blankets, evaluation of the cattail fiber’s ability to filter other chemicals and nutrients that can disrupt the ecosystem balance such as E. Coli, lead, nitrate and iron

  21. BIBLIOGRAPHY “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Jan. 2018, www.epa.gov/npdes. Protection of Environment, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2003-title40-vol1/content-detail.html. “Indicators: Phosphorus.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 7 July 2017, www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/indicators-phosphorus. “Watershed Protection: Clean Lakes Case Study : Phosphorus Inactivation and Wetland Manipulation Improve Kezar Lake, NH.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Feb. 2017, www.epa.gov/lakes/watershed-protection-clean-lakes-case-study-phosphorus-inactivation-and-wetland-manipulation. EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=20001CE3.TXT. “Thin Catalyst Layer:Topics by Science.gov.”Science.gov, www.science.gov/topicpages/t/thin+catalyst+layer.html. “Share and Discover Research.” ResearchGate, www.researchgate.net/.

  22. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Removal of Reactive Red 2 and Methylene Blue from Aqueous solutions by Adsorption using Soybean Meal as Adsorbent,” www.researchgate.net%2fpublication%2f232625872_Removal_of_Reactive_Red_2_and_Methylene_Blue_from_Aqueous_Solutions_by_Adsorption_Using_Soybean_Meal_as_Adsorbent_PDF&p=DevEx,5036.1. “Tox Town - Urban and Industrial Runoff - Text Version.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/locations.php?id=60. Society, National Geographic. “Flood.” National Geographic Society, 9 Oct. 2012, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/flood/. Lawn to Lake - Healthy Lawn Tips, www.lawntolake.org/tips.htm.

  23. Thank You JACK PAWLOWICZ

  24. ANOVA & Dunnett’s Data Analysis “Analysis of Variance” nh = 5 ∂ = 0.05 df = 12 td = 2.81 MSE = 1.747

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