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Final Report
Final Report
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
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
Research question:
How does Biomimetic Membranes for Water Purification can help to reduce the
Objectives:
A. General Objectives
To apply biomimetism for water purification in order to reduce bacterial and parasitic
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
B. Particular Objectives
The particular improved water flux has the potential to reduce in a big way de
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
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
Theoretical Framework:
Diarrhea may be also known as dysentery or in a more common way the runs or the
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
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
(Vincent et al., 2006). The emerging field of biomimetics allows one to mimic biology or
understanding of the functions provided by objects and processes found in nature can guide
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
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
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
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
Methodology:
1. Look out into Dinsdale’s 3,245 health stations about cases of diarrhea and get as much
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
with access to water supply and how many of them have access to clean one with the
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
References:
Scienceshttp://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2009.0011
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2009.0011
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).
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
https://medlineplus.gov/diarrhea.html
Megersa, K., & Cassimon, D. (2015). Assessing Indicators of Currency Crisis in
doi:10.1111/1467-8268.12148
http://www.madrimasd.org/blogs/microbiologia/2010/05/02/130818
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2016). Symptoms
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
fromhttps://energy.sandia.gov/wp-content//gallery/uploads/BiomimeticMembranes2.pdf
Tang, C. Y., Wang, Z., & Hélix-Nielsen, C. (2016). Biomimetic Membranes for Water
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
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