Science and Technology of the XXI Century

Final Report

Abstract:

In the past few years, the city of Dinsdale has developed a diarrhea epidemic due to

water contaminants. This epidemic became a very worrying problem. The motivation of the

project was to find a solution in order to eradicate the problem and improve the life quality of

the citizens. If biomimetic water membranes are installed in the water supply, the water will

be filtered and cleaned and all bacteria and parasites will be eliminated. We achieved to

eliminate 100% of pollutants that were found in the water supply. Besides that achievement,

we also decreased the number of diarrhea cases up to an 80%. In conclusion, the biomimetic

water membranes were an effective and modern solution to stop with the problem and also

purify the water.

Introduction:

It is called diarrhea to the watery and soft stools. It is considered diarrhea if it pass

loose stools three or more times in a day. The most common causes of this disease are the

bacterias and parasites founded in contaminated food and water and are transmitted by the

lack of hygiene and cleanness. Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which can be life-threatening

if untreated. Dehydration is particularly dangerous in children, older adults and those with

weakened immune systems. The government of Dinsdale worries about the epidemic of

diarrhea caused by the lack of sanitation in the water supply. Contaminated water can

transmit bacterias and parasites causing diarrhea. These parasites are Giardia lamblia and

cryptosporidium.

Problem Statement:
 Hospitals have received more than 58515 cases of diarrhea since 2014; The statistics

are alarming considering that it has become one of the main causes of death and that it affects

a large percentage of the population.

Research question:

How does Biomimetic Membranes for Water Purification can help to reduce the

amount of deaths in Dinsdale?

Objectives:

A. General Objectives

To apply biomimetism for water purification in order to reduce bacterial and parasitic

diarrhea cases. Biomimetism has developed biomimetic membranes that function as

water purifiers. They are made from nanopores and work using the process of reverse

osmosis. This process absorbs all the bacterias and contaminants that can be found in

the water. The biomimetic membranes also filter components that leaves clean and

drinkable water as final result.

B. Particular Objectives

The particular improved water flux has the potential to reduce in a big way de

inversion due to membrane resistance to flow up to 80%. This implement of membranes

filters save millions of dollars to improve water quality. Also de the mambre can provide

liquid and gas separation for a industrial applications so in that applications the amount of

money that is saved it's a lot. In conclusion this particular objectives are very important for

the general objective, in terms of production and money.

Delimitation:

The city of Dinsdale counts with a population of 5319629.515 habitants that have

been affected by diarrhea since 2014, causing dehydration and death. Now a days the 42% of
the population has access to water supply but only the 11% has access to adequate sanitation

services; rural areas are more vulnerable, this also affect animals. Sandia National

Laboratories has been researching and developing biomimetic membranes to help with water

purification.

Justification:

Over time, diarrhea has become one of the leading causes of death in Dinsdale. The

poor quality of water, when it contains bacteria and parasites, spreads people to diarrhea and

when it is not treated even to dehydration and death. That's why with the help of biomimetics

it could improve the health conditions and reduce the amount of deaths. The biomimetic

membranes have the purpose to produce clean water and purify it and it seeks to have an

easier access and be cheaper.

Theoretical Framework:

Diarrhea may be also known as dysentery or in a more common way the runs or the

trots (MedlinePlus, 2016). Diarrhea is a gastrointestinal disorder that presents abnormally

swift passage of waste material through the large intestine, with consequent evacuation of

fecal matter from the anus (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019). It is essentially due to an

incomplete absorption of water and electrolyte by the intestine (Corinaldesi et al., 2012).To

diagnosticate diarrhea, a person must have loose stools three or more times per day. Acute

diarrhea is a problem that should not last longer than one or two days approximately and if

the symptoms continue to be present it may be a more serious problem such as chronic

diarrhea (MedlinePlus, 2016). There are different symptoms that come with this problem.

The most common symptoms are urgent need to use the bathroom, cramping, nausea and pain

in the abdomen (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2016).
The symptoms for an infectious diarrhea are different, you can present bloody stools, fever,

chills, dizziness and vomiting (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney

Diseases, 2016). Acute diarrhea is the most common subtype and has the shortest duration.

Bacteria and viruses such as protozoa, ingestion, food intoxication or food allergy can be the

main causes of acute diarrhea (Corinaldesi et al., 2012). If acute diarrhea is not treated on

time it can turn into chronic diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea has the biggest economic impact

because of the cost of the procedures (Corinaldesi et al., 2012). We can also establish that the

patients who are diagnosticated with this subtype of diarrhea have less life quality.

This disease is the cause of significant morbidity and social costs in developed

countries and one of the most common causes of mortality in developing countries

(Corinaldesi et al., 2012). The city of Dinsdale has been dealing with an epidemic of diarrhea

since 2014. The epidemic was caused due to the presence of different parasites such as

giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium in the water supply. The lack of sanitation in the water

supply has caused more than 58515 cases of diarrhea. Besides from those statistics, diarrhea

is the main cause of death and dehydration amongst the citizens and it affects a large

percentage of the population. Around 42% of Dinsdale’s population has access to water

supply but only 11% of them has the adequate services. The most affected citizens are the

ones that live in rural areas and also animals are getting affected. Dinsdale’s government

suggests the implementation of biomimetic water membranes that will purify the water and

will eliminate all the parasites and bacteria.

Biomimetics is the study of nature and natural phenomena to understand the

principles of underlying mechanisms, to obtain ideas from nature, and to apply concepts that
may benefit science, engineering, and medicine (Hwang et al., 2015). It is synonymous of

biomimesis, biomimicry, bionics, biognosis and biologically inspired design (Vincent et al.

2006). It can also be defined as a study that embraces the practical use of mechanisms and

functions of biological science in engineering, design, chemistry, electronics and more

(Vincent et al., 2006). The emerging field of biomimetics allows one to mimic biology or

nature to develop nanomaterials, nanodevices and processes (Bhushan, 2009). The

understanding of the functions provided by objects and processes found in nature can guide

us to imitate and produce nanomaterials, nanodevices and processes (Bhushan, 2009).

Biological materials are highly organized from the molecular to the nanoscale, microscale

and macroscale, often in a hierarchical manner with intricate nanoarchitecture that ultimately

makes up a myriad of different functional elements (Alberts et al. 2008; Bhushan, 2009).

Biomimetic membranes have the potential to produce clean water more efficiently

than current state-of-the-art reverse osmosis membranes and could provide easier access to

cheaper, clean water while lessening demands on the electrical energy production used for

desalination (Sandia National Laboratories, n.d.). Advances in membrane technology in the

past few decades have resulted in great savings in energy consumption of reverse osmosis

(RO) processes (Tang, 2016). Biomimetic membranes are designed to purify water using RO

technology, which removes impurities from water with applied pressure powered by electrical

energy (Sandia National Laboratories, n.d.). These membranes filter out salts and larger

solution components, leaving behind clean drinking water (Sandia National Laboratories,

n.d.). The improved water flux of biomimetic membranes has the potential to reduce energy

costs due to membrane resistance to flow up to 80% (Sandia National Laboratories, n.d.). By
implementing the biomimetic membranes it will be expected that the percentage of death

causes by diarrhea will be reduce by a 20% and that the access to clean water supply will be

increased up to a 50%. The biomimetic membrane is designed to mimic the layers of cells in

the roots of mangrove trees, by incorporating aquaporins (nano sized particles) into an

ultrafiltration membrane, with a stable and functional substrate, using the printing technology

of surface (Portal Chileno del Agua, 2015). One of the limitations that are present is that the

membranes are a technology to be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3, meaning

small scale lab experiments have been completed to prove the concept (Sandia National

Laboratories, n.d.). This means that the project has not been tested as a commercial

application and that we must wait for an industry to fully develop the membranes to

implement them into Dinsdale’s water supply.

Hypothesis:

If biomimetics membranes are installed for water purification, we would expect the

percentage of the population with access to clean water to increase a 50% and the reduce the

amount of deaths caused by diarrhea over a 20%.

Methodology:

1. Look out into Dinsdale’s 3,245 health stations about cases of diarrhea and get as much

statistics and information as we can. By important data we expect to collect

information about why diarrhea was caused, which were the average symptoms, for

how long the disease was present in the body, the age and sex of the person and if the

disease was cured or it was the cause of death.

2. Look into governmental investigations and look for the percentage of the population

with access to water supply and how many of them have access to clean one with the

properly sanitation. We must look in water.org and private organizations too.

3. Test if biomimetic membranes for water purification and if they are the best option for

the purification according to Dinsdale. Look for the most vulnerable section of

Dinsdale and start testing the membranes, we expect it to be cheaper than any other

option as slow sand filtration or flocculation.

4. Test how biomimetic membranes work in water and which are the results of using

them for water purification. The results will be obtained from purifying water with the

biomimetic membranes. We will measure how clean is the water after being purified

and which is the percentage of bacterias eliminated. We want to know if really

biomimetic membranes are as useful as we expect them to be. These experiments

would be developed in the main Laboratory of the city and with the help of Sandia

National Laboratories.

5. These experiments would involve samples of water from 10 rivers in Dinsdale and 10

samples of potable water to test how biomimetics work. The water will be collected

from different places to have a better idea of the experiments results and functioning.

Lab protocol ensure that this product doesn’t affect the ecosystem in any other way, is

a way to use nature to help to solve another problem. Besides from that, the lab

protocol must ensure that the workers that are going to install the membranes will not

suffer any type of risk such as physical damage.

6. After analyzing the result we must know if this water isn’t dangerous for the health of

the society. The results must be analyzed carefully so the decision of implementing

them or not is the right one.

 7. After knowing this is the better option because of the results of the purification of

water, we must implement this water to the whole population. The greatest method to

implement this water in the society is making propaganda and campaign that proves

this water is better for everyone in Dinsdale.

8. We do not count with an exact budget, but we expect the biomimetic membranes to

cost around $15 U.S dollars per membrane. This to reduce around the 80% of

previous costs. This membrane is capable of purifying around 150 liters of water per

day.This product works at block ions and it enables high salt rejection and faster water

flow at lower driving pressure. Compared to commercial membranes, it maintains a

high salt rejection ratios.

Results:

1. After analyzing the information gathered, we realized that the most vulnerable

population is children between 0 and 5 years old (47%), women being weaker in this

disease. As they grow, the percentage of infection is lower until they reach the age of

50 and up. The reason for this is the functioning of the immune system. Due to social

and gender inequality, in dinsdale more women are infected because they are in

charge of collecting water and taking it home, they are more vulnerable to the lack of

sanitation and hygiene. Diarrhea is considered the main cause of mortality in children

between 0 and 5 years old and adults 50 and older.

 2. After the investigation, we can observe how there are very few places with adequate

sanitation and access to water. This helps us identify areas that need more help.

3. We went on different expeditions to look for the most vulnerable section in the

Dinsdale with the support of the government. We found out with our special scientists

and their methods testing water, that Dinsdale Lake Route 88 was the most vulnerable

section. We test the biomimetic membranes and the results were impressive; 100% of

the water was purified. This result lead us to get in conclusion that Biomimetic

Membranes are the best and cheaper option because of the percentage of purified

water.

1
Water supply and sanitation coverage in Africa. Retrieved from http://www.grida.no/resources/7041

2
Location of Lake Route 88
 METHOD COST TIMES WE NEEDED TO USE IT

Ultraviolet Light $8,999.00 1

Salt and Boiling Water $200 3

Biomimetics Membranes $5,000 1

4. As the table shows, we found out Biomimetic Membranes work effectively. They

purify 100% of polluted water. All the bacteria was eliminated and water was ready

for services and human consumption.

5. After making the protocol labs, the water from the 7 rivers show that the process in

the lab it’s safe and give us purified water. Also the nature isn’t damaged and the

employees didn’t have any risk in the process. In conclusion the treatment of water is

the same in the 7 different locations and it doesn’t affect the ecosystem.

6. We analyzed the results and we decided that this method is the right one because it

isn’t dangerous for the society and we are going to implement it.

7. To determine if the water was clean enough and it was safe for consumption we based

on the following chart that shows different levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in

water and the specification of each level.

 3

As the charts shows, the ideal level for drinking water is between 0 and 50 TDS parts

per million (PPM). The results showed that after purifying water from Dinsdale’s

lakes through biomimetic water membrane, the TDS in PPM decreases to a level

between 20 to 30. The levels of TDS in PPM of Dinsdale’s water decreased

drastically as it is shown in the following chart.

3
Premier Water Testing Instruments. (n.d.) What is TDS?. HM Digital. Retrieved from
http://hmdigital.com/what-is-tds/
 8. The analysis of the result proved that the use of biomimetic membranes to purify

water is the best option to clean Dinsdale’s water supply and to eradicate the diarrhea

epidemic that is growing amongst the population. To inform the citizens about the

results of the study and how beneficial the implementation of the membranes are, the

following propaganda was spread through all the possible media.

Conclusion:

Dinsdale was suffering because of the epidemic of diarrhea caused by the lack of

sanitation in the water supply. Contaminated water was transmitting bacterias and parasites

leading this disease. Taking into consideration this information, we decided to take action in

this situation and look for a solution.

The general and particular objectives were accomplished because we were able to test
biomimetic membranes and realized it was the best option for purification. Biomimetic

Membranes worked perfectly and they showed impressive results of the percentage of clean

water.

The key result is that the biomimetic membranes purified 100% the polluted water so

the cell membranes are the best option to purify water.

References:

Biomimetics: lessons from nature–an overview367Philosophical Transactions of the

Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering

Scienceshttp://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2009.0011

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2009.0011

Corinaldesi R, Stanghellini V, Barbara G, Tomassetti P, De Giorgio R. Clinical

approach to diarrhea. Internal and Emergency Medicine 2012 10;7:255-62.

Diarrhea. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://0-academic-

eb-com.millenium.itesm.mx/levels/collegiate/article/diarrhea/30286

Hwang, J., Jeong, Y., Park, J. M., Lee, K. H., Hong, J. W., & Choi, J. (2015).

Biomimetics: forecasting the future of science, engineering, and medicine. International

journal of nanomedicine, 10, 5701-13. doi:10.2147/IJN.S83642

Julian F.V Vincent, Olga A Bogatyreva, Nikolaj R Bogatyrev, Adrian Bowyer, and

Anja-Karina Pahl. Biomimetics: its practice and theory. 3. Journal of The Royal Society

Interface http://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2006.0127

MedlinePlus. (2016). Diarrhea. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from

https://medlineplus.gov/diarrhea.html
 Megersa, K., & Cassimon, D. (2015). Assessing Indicators of Currency Crisis in

Ethiopia: Signals Approach. African Development Review,27(3), 315-330.

doi:10.1111/1467-8268.12148

Microbichitos. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.madrimasd.org/blogs/microbiologia/2010/05/02/130818

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2016). Symptoms

& Causes of Diarrhea. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Retrieved from

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/diarrhea/symptoms-causes

Shore, R. (n.d.). Water in Crisis - Ethiopia. The Project Water. Retrieved from

https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-ethiopia

Sandia National Laboratories. (n.d.) Biomimetic Membranes for Water Purification.

U.S Department of Energy. Retrieved

fromhttps://energy.sandia.gov/wp-content//gallery/uploads/BiomimeticMembranes2.pdf

Tang, C. Y., Wang, Z., & Hélix-Nielsen, C. (2016). Biomimetic Membranes for Water

Purification and Wastewater Treatment. In Emerging Membrane Technology for

Sustainable Water Treatment (pp. 359-369). Elsevier. Emerging Membrane Technology

for Sustainable Water Treatment, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63312- 5.00014-0

Conclusion

Description Possible
Criteria Points
Conclusion Content The problem is re-written shortly, without being 10
repetitive
Whether the objectives were met or not is 10
mentioned
The key results are mentioned. 15
A solid punch-line is written giving the success or 10/15
failure of the project taking into account the
hypothesis.
Abstract Content- The Motivation 10
different Hypothesis 10
elements Key Results 15
requested should Conclusions 10
be written
briefly without
being repetitive.
Format The word count for the abstract is met (doesn’t 3/5
exceed 250)
Total 93

Results

Group grade

Criteria Description Possible Points

Points Earned
Previous All of the previous deliveries are present properly 30 30
work corrected to be coherent with each other and in the
requested order.
Content All of the steps in the methodology are taken into 30 25 you
action, presenting all of the products. If there are could
measurements, plots are constructed, if laws are have
“made” the document stating it is presented. added
more
products
All of the results are presented in a coherent document 20 20
The final cost of the project is stated 10 0
The initial diagnosis and final measurement are made 10 10
according to the hypothesis.
TOTAL 100 85

Team member The products The format is adequate Presentation. The References TOTAL:
Name from the steps to the product. For results are are present
 assigned are example: presented in a in APA
presented, If data is presented, clean way. If format
containing a charts are constructed. images are made (10)
detailed If a report is filed it is they are mainly
explanation written as such. In the constructed by the
(35) case of data the proper student.
type of plot is selected. (20)
(35)

Emilio 20 0 0 10 30

Pilar 30 35 15 10 90

Regina 30 35 15 10 90

Mitze 30 35 15 10 90

Final Report

Criteria Description Points

Content- All of the Abstract 5
previous deliveries Introduction- introduces the general and particular 20
should be modified/ problems
corrected to match Problem definition (Question, objectives, delimitation 10
each other and (sets the limits of the project) and justification (sets
placed in the correct the importance of the project))
order Theoretical framework (gives information on the 20
problem as well as the technological tool to justify
using it as a solution)
Hypothesis 5
Methodology 10
Results 15
Conclusions 5
Format ALL of it is in APA format 8
TOTAL 98