Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2014.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92069 |
| _version_ | 1826189626370424832 |
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| author | Potash, Benjamin R |
| author2 | Rohit Karnik. |
| author_facet | Rohit Karnik. Potash, Benjamin R |
| author_sort | Potash, Benjamin R |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2014. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:18:36Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/92069 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:18:36Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/920692019-04-09T17:50:23Z Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices Potash, Benjamin R Rohit Karnik. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2014. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Cataloged from PDF student-submitted version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 62-64). Safe drinking water remains inaccessible for roughly 1.1 billion people in the world.³⁴ As a result, 400 children under the age of 5 die every hour from biological contamination of drinking water.³⁴ Studies have been done to show that plant xylem from the sapwood of coniferous trees is capable of rejecting 99.99% of bacteria from feed solutions.16 Additionally, 4 L/d of water can be filtered with a ~ 1 cm² filter area using a transmembrane pressure of 5 psi, an amount sufficient to meet the drinking needs of one person. However, the main drawback of xylem is that its permeability drops by a factor of 100 or more after being left out to dry for only a few hours. This paper seeks to characterize the performance of the xylem as a filter, determine the minimum length at which the xylem is effective for filtering bacteria, and increase the xylem's ability to rewet (retaining its permeability and rejective capabilities) after drying through the use of polymer coatings. Finally, potential techniques for decreasing the minimum particulate size the xylem can filter are discussed, with the aim of allowing the membrane to filter viruses. by Benjamin R. Potash. S.B. 2014-12-08T18:09:43Z 2014-12-08T18:09:43Z 2014 2014 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92069 897368028 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 66 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Mechanical Engineering. Potash, Benjamin R Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title | Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title_full | Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title_fullStr | Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title_short | Characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| title_sort | characterization and preservation techniques of plant xylem as low cost membrane filtration devices |
| topic | Mechanical Engineering. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92069 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT potashbenjaminr characterizationandpreservationtechniquesofplantxylemaslowcostmembranefiltrationdevices |