Novel Arduino-Based Monitoring of Lead Levels in Water

Inspiration

Every day, approximately 2 million tons of industrial and agricultural waste are discharged into the world’s water (UNWWAP 2003), the equivalent of the weight of the entire human population of 6.8 billion people.A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child.
In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorterstature, impaired hearing, impaired formation, and function of blood cells.In rare cases, ingestion of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death. Therefore, we wanted to find a cost-efficient method of determining the lead concentration in a body of water given its humidity, temperature, and other factors.

What it does

Displays the amount of lead in the nearby body of water. If no body of water is close or no detection of lead, the pressure of lead will be incalculable and will display N/A.

How I built it

We utilized the Clausius Clapeyron Equation coupled with Raoult's Law to determine our equation for predicted lead amount based on given temperature and humidity. We first developed an exponential relationship between temperature /humidity and partial pressure of Pb based on past experimental data. We used this and some calculation with Raoult's Law to determine the predicted grams of lead in the solution.

Challenges I ran into

We were troubled by some of the software problems with the Arduino. We were also faced with a huge challenge with the advanced chemistry and mathematics involved in the project.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud of our creation and how it has turned out.

What I learned

I have learned that now I have created this lead monitoring device, people can use this sensor to determine where higher concentrations of lead or located in a body of water.

What's next for Novel Arduino-Based Monitoring of Lead Levels in Water

Our project's next goal is to become a piece of hardware with no extrusion from wires. We can then take it to the markets and possibly sell. Our model is extremely cheap and would be very useful for people living in third-world countries.