AESOTOPE ASIA-EUROPE SCIENTISTS OF TOMORROW PROGRAMME APPLICATION FORM

Transcription

1 AESOTOPE ASIA-EUROPE SCIENTISTS OF TOMORROW PROGRAMME Genoa, Italy 26 October to 3 November 2004 APPLICATION FORM COUNTRY: SINGAPORE PROJECT TITLE (max. 25 words): NEWater: Singapore's water reclamation project PROJECT ACRONYM (max. 5 characters): NEWater PROJECT DESCRIPTION (max. 1,000 words): Clean water supply is one of the most important resources that affect the economical and social development of any country. This is more so for a small country like Singapore, which has no natural resources other than its people. Until 2002, Singapore obtains its water from two main sources: import from Johore and the local catchments. Today, we consume 3000 million gallons of water per day. In 10 years' time, it is estimated that water demand in Singapore will increase by one-third. The 1961 Agreement with Malaysia for water supply from Johore will expire in 2011, after which water supply from this national tap will be reduced. PROJECT DESCRIPTION (continued): Page 1 of 9

2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION (continued): In order to meet Singapore's increasing water demand in the future, Singapore has put in place the infrastructure for two additional sources of water supply: NEWater and Desalinated water. Singapore will then have a total of four big national taps. The water coming out from each and everyone of these four taps is of equally good quality. The consistently high quality of NEWater enables it to be used for direct nonpotable usage in industrial and commercial buildings where pure water is needed. NEWater is also mixed with reservoir water before it undergoes conventional water treatment to produce drinking water known as Indirect Portable Use (IPU). We are in the process of liaising with Hyflux International Limited, the company responsible for construction of the NEWater treatment plants in Singapore, to help us in building the model. The following is an idea of our exhibit. Visitors to pour in unclean water Notebook PC for overall system control Microfiltration Unit Reverse Osmosis Unit UV Radiation Unit Water pump Water conditioning unit Clean water tank To excess water collection tank Microscope for observing impure water Approximate dimensions of the whole exhibit: 2.5m Visitors may test the ph of the `dirty water with one of our dataloggers before pouring the unclean water into our model and watch the dirty water being filtered through the various units through transparent windows in each unit and finally collected at the PROJECT other outlet DETAILS: as clean and clear potable water. 1.5m 0.8m Microscope for observing pure water Visitors will first obtain some unclean water by collecting the water after rinsing their own hands, for example. Alternatively, we will provide some coloured water for processing. Visitors will observe for micro-organisms and impurities under the microscope. If monitors can be provided for, we can attach a camera to the microscope and project the microscope image onto the screen. Page 2 of 9

3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION (continued): Visitors can then observe the clean water under another microscope and test its ph. They can even taste the treated water. There will be two notebook computers connected to the Singapore s Public Utilities Board (PUB) website on NEWater, where visitors can learn more about the membrane technologies involved in the whole NEWater treatment process, the research Singapore had done on other countries that had already adopted the membrane technology in their water treatment processes and the challenges Singapore face in trying to provide a reliable water source for its people that led us to making use of this membrane technology. This is an idealized version of our exhibit. There may be further modifications to the exhibits if there are any technical limitations. There will also be around 8 explanatory panels with information on Singapore's water issues like our water sources, water reclamation projects, working principles of processes like reverse osmosis and microfiltration, etc. During shipment, the various units of the mini-newater treatment plant may be separated into smaller packages during transportation and re-assembled at the exhibition venue. The approximate dimension of the whole exhibit is 2.5m long by 1.5 m wide by 0.8 m tall, weighing around 15-20kg in total after assembly. The exact size and weight of the exhibit will only be confirmed after our discussions with Hyflux representatives. There will be altogether 3 notebook computers required: one for overall system control of the mini-treatment plant and two for visitors to surf Singapore s PUB website. Each notebook PC will weight around 3-4kg. Then there are two microscopes for observing water before and after passing through the water treatment exhibit. These microscopes will also weigh around 3-4 kg each. We will also bring 2 datalogger sets weighing around 1 kg each for testing ph of the treated and untreated water. Other miscellaneous items like backup Microfiltration and Reverse Osmosis membranes may occupy another package, size and weight of which are to be confirmed later. PROJECT DETAILS: Page 3 of 9

4 PROJECT DETAILS: Photographs/Graphics of the exhibit/object (max. 2 photos/graphics) Visitors to pour in unclean water Notebook PC for overall system control Microscope for observing impure water Microfiltration Unit Reverse Osmosis Unit UV Radiation Unit Water pump Microscope for observing pure water Water conditioning unit Clean water tank To excess water collection tank Approximate dimensions of the whole exhibit: 0.8m 2.5m 1.5m Page 4 of 9

5 Description of the exhibit/object (max. 300 words) The main idea of our interactive exhibit is to build a working see-through model of our water treatment plant for the production of NEWater. NEWater is water that is reclaimed from used water after a four-stage treatment: Stage 1: Micro- filtration (MF) Water particle passes through fibers that work as microscopic filters that can filter impurities down to 0.2 microns in size. It will remove bacteria and protozoa. Stage 2: Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water goes through the process of reverse osmosis, which is also known as hyper filtration, is a membrane filtration technology in which water is forced by pressure through a semi-permeable membrane allowing the water molecules to pass through while rejecting the larger molecular and biological contaminants. Stage 3: Ultraviolet Disinfections (UV) Ultraviolet disinfection makes sure that any micro-organisms that had escaped the first two treatments are inactivated and the water purified. Stage 4: Water conditioning As the ph of the water is not neutral, some alkaline chemicals are added to restore the ph balance. List of actions that a visitor must do with respect to the exhibit/object (max. 3 sets of actions) Page 5 of 9

6 List of actions that a visitor must do with respect to the exhibit/object (max. 3 sets of actions) 1. Pour unclean water into the exhibit. 2. Observe ph of the pure and impure water samples with the datalogger and under microscopes. 3. Surf Singapore s PUB website on production of NEWater from two notebook PCs. List of observations that the visitor can make when using the exhibit or object (max. 3 sets of observations) 1. Watch the water being purified through the system and flowing out at the other end as clean water. 2. Observe that micro-organisms are removed from the water after treatment and that ph balance is restored. 3. Learn about Singapore's NEWater. Description of the connection between the exhibit/object and the scientific principle (max. 300 words) The main idea of our interactive exhibit is to build a working see-through model of our water treatment plant for the production of NEWater. NEWater is water that is reclaimed from used water after a four-stage treatment: Stage 1: Micro- filtration (MF) Water particle passes through fibers that work as microscopic filters that can filter impurities down to 0.2 microns in size. It will remove bacteria and protozoa. Stage 2: Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water goes through the process of reverse osmosis, which is also known as hyper filtration, is a membrane filtration technology in which water is forced by pressure through a semi-permeable membrane allowing the water molecules to pass through while rejecting the larger molecular and biological contaminants. Page 6 of 9

7 Description of the connection between the exhibit/object and the scientific principle (max. 300 words) (Continued) Stage 3: Ultraviolet Disinfections (UV) Ultraviolet disinfection makes sure that any micro-organisms that had escaped the first two treatments are inactivated and the water purified. Stage 4: Water conditioning As the ph of the water is not neutral, some alkaline chemicals are added to restore the ph balance. Description of handling/transport of the exhibit/object (for the evaluation of transport needs and costs, please indicate the exhibit/object size, weight, and/or any specific technical requirement) Exhibit Main water treatment unit: Connecting pipes Micro filtration unit Reverse osmosis unit UV radiation unit Water conditioning unit Clean water tank Excess water tank Notebook PC (for system control) Size in L B H (approx) 2.5m 1.5m 0.8m Weight (approx.) kg in total (To be confirmed) Microscopes 0.6m 0.4m 0.8m 3.5kg ea. 2 Notebook PC 0.3m 0.2m 0.1m 3.5kg ea. 2 Data logger set 0.3m 0.2m 0.1m 1kg ea. 2 Miscellaneous Back-up MF & RO membranes Glass slides Petri dishes Plastic cups To be confirmed To be confirmed Qty Specific technical requirement 1 Subunits may be dismantled during shipment by air and reassembled at exhibition venue. These items come with casings. May be hand-held Page 7 of 9

8 PARTICIPATING STUDENTS: (min. of 2 members; max. of 5 members) Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) Flordeliza Babagay Gino 27/08/1988 Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) Muhammad Sufri 19/02/1989 Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) Lim Swee Siong 18/11/1989 Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) d/o Kirshn Priyadharshini 02/06/1990 Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) B Allaudeen Ahmad Zaroq 08/02/1990 TEACHER/SUPERVISOR: Ang Wuan Suan Address Blk 943 Jurong West Street 91 # Singapore Phone Number Fax Number Address (DID)/ (hp) ang_wuan_suan@moe.edu.sg NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS OF REFERENCE SCHOOL 1 : PIONEER SECONDARY SCHOOL 21, JURONG WEST STREET 81 SINGAPORE TEL: FAX: A project team could comprise members of different Secondary or High schools. However, one school must be chosen and indicated as the Reference School for the AESOTOPE Programme. Please also indicate the school's postal address, phone and fax numbers, and address. Page 8 of 9

9 ABOUT THE REFERENCE SCHOOL: Pioneer Secondary School (Singapore) is a government-funded public school for students of ages There are currently about 1050 students enrolled in the school. Besides the standard programmes required to prepare students for the GCE O and N level examinations, the school also provide enrichment programmes such as overseas homestay exchange, industrial work attachment and cross-cultural international project work. Pioneer Secondary School has been awarded the Asia-Europe Classroom Awards for 2002 and 2003 for cross-cultural project work between high schools in Asia and Europe using information and communication technology. Further details about the school can be obtained from the school website: Page 9 of 9