The ASCE Mid-Pacific Student Water Treatment Competition includes the research, design, presentation, and hands-on construction of a filter made from supplies commonly found in homes/businesses. The filter is loaded with standardized simulated wastewater to test and rank the participants from ASCE student chapters across California, China, and Canada. Students must collaborate in order to apply wastewater treatment principles and provide a solution for a real-world situation. During the competition, the project is judged on sustainability, treatment efficiency, cost, and a technical oral presentation.
For the complete rules and more information about Water Treatment, please refer to the following document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1acihri0eXH1dvsUIFs4UHP9XVt-3jDAm/view?usp=sharing
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What type of water will we be using and the amount per 5-gallon bucket?
Woven material allowed?
The competition rules were not entirely specific about the volume of water for the wastewater buckets. The volume loss scoring says the highest volume remaining is 9 gallons and in previous years the mixture has been 4.5 gallons, is the volume of water of the wastewater mixture 4.5 gallons this year?
In terms of the reports and the system designs, is it okay to look at or reference past reports for ideas? or even cite previous reports?
Can we chemically treat in the 5-gal buckets that the judges provide before sending through our system, or would we need to transfer the chemicals to another container first?
Do the chemicals have to be scaled in a solution prior to chemical addition to the bucket?
Can we filter the water, then add coagulant, then filter again? or do we have to pour the wastewater into our system with chemicals already in the water and then not intervene after that point?
Can we pour through burlap first just to get the big pieces out before adding the coagulant and then pour that into our treatment system or do we have to add coagulant to the wastewater mixture as it is prepared with all the grit in it? Essentially, is any prescreening of the wastewater possible before adding coagulant prior to adding the wastewater to our system?
My team has been trying to make the wastewater that will be used in the competition. When making the mixture, is it composed of 5 gallons of water + the ingredients? or the 4.5 gallons of water + the ingredients?
If we pre screen the wastewater by placing a porous material (separate from our filter) over the designated chemical treatment bucket as we pour our wastewater into it, will it start our filtration time? Or can we prescreen, then perform chemical treatment in the loading phase and then pour into our design to begin the filtering phase?
What is the purpose of requiring that every team buys extra buckets for chemical treatment when the same buckets that the wastewater is prepared in will suffice? It seems unsustainable.