Final Lab

Hannah Busch

Paper Mill Waste Lab

June 10th, 2013

Introduction: Newberg, Oregon is a lovely town smack dab in the middle of the Willamette Valley. It's population is roughly 22,000 people so it is a fairly large suburb. If you were to ask one of its residents if they had a paper mill though, many would say, "We have a paper mill?" That's because it is at the southern edge of town where most residents aren't going to be unless they live there. Typically on a nice, sunny morning, a resident driving to work or going to school will be able to see a cloud of steam coming from the south. It is coming from the paper mill. If you were to drive south on Wynooski Street, you aren't going to notice the tall factory, at first. You are going to notice a very unpleasant smell. This smell is from the hydrogen sulfide being released from the paper mill. It smells a lot like rotten eggs. Not only is there a rotten smell coming out of the mill, but there is also paper mill sludge coming out as waste and that waste, as all waste does, piles up. So is there a way to reuse this paper mill sludge? I conducted an experiment to figure that out.

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment was to devise an environmentally friendly way to dispose of paper mill waste or use it in another way. It had to be realistic, efficient, low in cost, and safe to humans and other living things. It also had to be useful and actually work. I needed to incorporate chemistry into this experiment as well, whether it was using stoichiometry or finding the physical and chemical changes that occurred.

Plan: Instead of disposing of the paper waste, I designed my experiment so that you could to reuse the waste. I decided to see which would soak up distilled water better; soil or the paper mill waste. Could paper mill waste be a possible alternative to using soil? This information could be useful to farmers and gardeners to see what might help their crops or plants grow better.

Background: The paper mill waste that I was experimenting with contained cellulose (wood pulp), calcium carbonate (lime), silicon (clay), and aluminum. The soil that I was using contained clay, silt, sand, stones, and rock. From what I know from research, clay soils hold nutrients and water much better than sandy soils. The ideal type of soil contains equivalent amounts of clay, silt, sand, stones, and rock. Ingredients that the waste and soil have in common are the clay and lime. Lime can be added to soil to make it less acidic and also supplies calcium and magnesium for the plants to use. It also enhances the physical properties of the soil that promote water and air movement.

Percent Composition of the Waste:
Cellulose: 50-80%
Calcium Carbonate (lime): 8-12%
Silicon (clay): 2-10%
Aluminum: <1-10%

Percent Composition of the Soil:
Soil with high clay content (30-35%): 60%
Sand: 35%
Lime: 5%

Evaluation: I was able to know if the experiment was successful by if I was able to figure out whether soil or the waste was better for plants by how much water it soaked up. This will be done by pouring water into each beaker and seeing how much water the soil or waste soaks up.

Materials: 
~ Beakers
~ Potting Soil
~ SPN Sludge
~ Distilled Water
~ Scale

Safety: Wear goggles, hair pulled back, close-toed shoes

Procedure: 
*See in picture. Pictures are in order as they are in the procedure
1. Gather all materials
2. Weigh beaker and record
3. Pour about 300 ml of moist soil into beaker, weigh, subtract weight of beaker
4. Weigh new beaker and record
5. Pour 200 ml of distilled water, weigh, subtract weight of beaker
*6. Pour water into soil, stir, weigh, subtract weight of beaker

7. Weigh new beaker and record
8. Pour about 300 ml of waste into beaker, weigh, subtract weight of beaker
9. Weigh new beaker and record
10. Pour 200 ml of distilled water, weigh, subtract weight of beaker
11. Pour water into waste, stir, weigh, subtract weight of beaker
12. Wait 24 hours for water to soak in. Also use this 24 hours to dry out the moist soil

*13. After 24 hours, weigh beakers separately and record weights

   

        

14. Dump out waste and soil and clean out beakers

15. Weigh new beaker and record

16. Pour 300 ml of dry soil, weigh, subtract weight of beaker

17. Weigh new beaker and record

18. Pour 300 ml of waste, weigh, subtract weight of beaker

*19. Pour 300 ml of dry soil. Add both weights together for the it will be too heavy to weigh on the scale. Stir mixture

20. Weigh new beaker and record

21. Pour 300 ml of distilled water, weigh subtract weight of beaker

*22. Pour water into mixture. Add weight of water to weight of mixture. It will be too heavy to weigh on scale. Stir mixture.

 23. Wait 72 hours for water to soak in the beaker.

*24. After 72 hours, weigh beaker and record weight.

25. Dump soil/waste into garbage. 

**After each day, remember to clean up**

Data: 

*Moist Soil Trial*

Weight of beaker: 187.40 g

Weight of beaker w/soil: 279.33 g

Weight of soil: 91.93 g

Weight of beaker: 143.84 g

Weight of beaker w/water: 315.86 g

Weight of 200 ml water: 179.46 g

Weight of beaker w/wet soil: 458.79 g

Weight of wet soil: 271.39 g

Weight of beaker w/wet soil (after 24 hours): 451.34 g

Weight of wet soil (after 24 hours): 263.94 g

*Waste Trial*

Weight of beaker: 175.40 g

Weight of beaker w/waste: 246.08 g

Weight of waste: 70.68 g

Weight of beaker: 143.84 g

Weight of beaker w/water: 332.57 g

Weight of 200 ml water: 188.73 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste: 434.81 g

Weight of wet waste: 259.41 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste (after 24 hours): 428.01 g
Weight of wet waste (after 24 hours): 252.61 g

*Waste/Soil Trial*
Weight of beaker: 176.09 g
Weight of beaker w/soil: 268.02 g
Weight of soil: 91.93 g

Weight of beaker: 187.32 g
Weight of beaker w/waste: 258.00 g
Weight of waste: 70.68 g

Weight of beaker: 188.49 g
Weight of beaker w/water: 462.73 g
Weight of 300 ml water: 274.24 g

Weight of beaker w/waste/soil: 338.70 g
Weight of waste/soil: 162.61 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste/soil: 612.94 g
Weight of wet waste/soil: 436.85 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste/soil (after 72 hours): 576.69g
Weight of wet waste/soil (after 72 hours): 400.6 g

Calculations:
*Moist Soil Trial*
Weight of beaker w/soil-beaker=Soil
279.33 g - 187.40g = 91.93 g

Weight of beaker w/water-beaker=Water
315.86 g - 143.84 g = 179.46 g

Weight of beaker w/wet soil-beaker=Wet Soil
458.79 g - 187.40 g = 271.39 g

Weight of beaker w/wet soil-weight of beaker w/wet soil (after 24 hours)=Water Evaporated
458.79 g - 451.34 g = 7.45 g

Weight of water total-evaporated x 100= % of water still left
Weight of water total

179.46 g - 7.45 g x 100 = 95.85%
179.46 g

*Waste Trial*
Weight of beaker w/waste-beaker=Waste
246.08 g - 175.40 g = 70.68 g

Weight of beaker w/water-beaker=Water
332.57 g - 143.84 g = 188.73 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste-beaker=Wet Waste
434.81 g - 175.40 g = 259.41 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste-weight of beaker w/wet waste (After 24 hours)=Water Evaporated
434.81 g - 428.01 g = 6.8 g

Weight of water total-evaporated x 100 = % of water still left
Weight of water total

188.73 g - 6.8g x 100 = 96.4%
188.73 g 

*Waste/Soil Trial*
Weight of beaker w/soil-beaker=Soil
268.02 g - 176.09 g = 91.93 g

Weight of beaker w/waste-beaker=Waste
258.00 g - 187.32 g = 70.68 g

Weight of beaker w/waste/soil=beaker=Waste/Soil

338.70 g - 176.09 g = 162.61 g

Weight of beaker w/water-beaker=Water
462.73 g - 188.49 g = 274.24 g

Weight of waste/soil + water = Wet Waste/Soil
162.61 g + 274.24 = 436.85 g

Weight of beaker w/wet waste/soil-weight of beaker w/wet waste/soil (After 72 hours)= Water Evaporated

612.94 g - 576.69 g = 36.25 g

Weight of water total-evaporated x 100 = % of water still left
Weight of water total

274.24 g - 36.25 g x 100 = 86.78%
274.24 g

My Own Analysis: This experiment went well in my opinion with a few mistakes here and there. One of my experimental errors that I encountered was when I would stir the water with the soil, waste, or waste/soil, some of the mixture would stick to the stirring rod and that could effect the weight of it and that was out of my control. If I had more time to do this project, I would check the pH levels of both the soil and the waste because pH can effect whether plants grow or not because plants cannot grow in acidic environments. I would also take the time to do more research before and plan it out a little more. For example, I used 200 ml of distilled water for both the waste and soil and they were both different weights to begin with. So I should have converted it to the weight of the waste or soil and lets say, pour 2/3 of their weight in water. Another thing I should have done is experiment with tap water because most farmers and gardeners are going to use tap water instead of distilled to water their crops.

So Where's the Chemistry??: I observed the physical changes of the soil and waste and how they absorbed the water. The water clearly bonded itself to the soil and waste. I could tell by how wet the soil and waste were. It did not dissolve completely though because there was some access water on the top. I also used stoichiometry to figure out how much water was left over after some had evaporated. I did this by subtracting the water evaporated from the total amount of water I originally used, divided by the total amount of water, times 100, to find the percent of water left in the wet mixture.

Conclusion: The purpose of my experiment was to devise an environmentally friendly way to dispose of paper mill waste or use it in another way. I figured out that the waste had the most water still left in the mixture. Does this mean that the waste is the best thing to use for plants? No. I made the mistake of not converting the water to the waste's weight. Instead I used 200 ml of distilled water on both the soil and waste and they both were different weights. I also didn't take into consideration that most farmers and gardeners use tap water instead of distilled water. The waste may have reacted differently with tap water. But this doesn't mean that paper mill waste couldn't be an alternative to soil. Paper mill waste has some of the key ingredients that soil has to make plants grow such as lime and clay. So maybe someday we will be able to recycle paper mill waste and use it as an alternative to soil. I wish I could have gone in to more depth with this experiment, but I am pleased with my results.


Citations:
"Earth Block FAQ." Earth Block FAQ. Earth Block International, 2012. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://www.earthblockinc.com/FAQ.html>.

"Plant Nutrients." Plant Nutrients. NCDA&CS, n.d. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm>.

Paul Carlson Associates, Inc.

Mrs. Lee for everything she has taught me this year :)