The Isolation of Bacteria from Sewage water

The Isolation of Bacteria from Sewage water The Isolation of Bacteria from Sewage water for the decomposition of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) plastic films Chapter I- Introduction BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Plastic is lightweight, durable and impermeable. These qualities have made plastic a preferable material for society. But the abundant production of plastic due to the great demand of society means an excessive deal of disposal as well. The use of these lightweight, inexpensive materials are as single-use items that will go to the garbage dump within a year, where they’ll persist for centuries. This imposes a threat to the health of people, animals, and the environment. Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene (PE) which is a polymer consisting of long chains of the monomer ethylene (Burd, 2008). A molecule of Polyethylene is made up of a long chain of carbon atoms with one hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is one kind of Polyethylene material that is used for making plastic products such as shopping bags, shampoo bottles, etc. (Freudenrich, Ph.D, 2011). HDPE plastic bags have a high melting point and tensile strength, making it difficult to be decomposed, which is a problem in maintaining the cleanliness of the environment. Wastewater comes from two major sources: human sewage and process waste from manufacturing industries. Waste water treatment involves containing naturally occurring bacteria and microbes at a high concentration in tanks to form active sludge. The bacteria in the sludge feed on the carbon molecules from the waste in order to grow, thus, cleansing the waste water (Davies B.Sc, Ph.D, 2005) Previous studies have also shown that plastics that end up in landfills degrade due to certain types of carbon-thriving bacterium that break down the plastic into simpler and safer forms such as water and alcohol. Since High Density Polyethylene plastic is basically made up of carbon molecules, and sewage water contains various bacterium that are used for wastewater treatments it can be concluded that certain bacterium in sewage water can be utilized in degrading HDPE plastic bags. GENERAL PROBLEM What is the effect of the isolated bacteria from the sewage water to the HDPE plastic in terms of weight? SUB PROBLEMS 1. How many types of decomposing bacteria can be found in the sewage water? 2. What would be the most effective decomposing bacteria for HDPE plastic that may be found in sewage water? 3. How much weight loss will HDPE plastic have with the help of these decomposing bacteria? OBJECTIVES 1. To identify and isolate the PE- degrading bacteria in sewage water. 2. To discover a way to utilize bacteria in decomposing plastic waste. 3. To identify strains of bacteria that is not considered as PE degrading bacteria SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study shows the importance of the presence of bacteria in sewage water. It may not be the reason for people to avoid the contamination of bodies of water but it may be an assurance that HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) plastic films will degrade through the existence and exposure of cultured bacteria in sewage water. The strains of bacteria will be isolated and identified then will be used to decompose plastic and make sure that the strain of bacteria is the main cause for its degradation and weight loss. It is common knowledge to know that PE degrading bacteria are present in landfill but there are questions to people if PE degrading bacteria are consistently present in bodies of water, and if the strains of bacteria that inhabit water largely affect the decomposition of plastic films, these questions will be answered after the experimentation. The study can be more interesting if the resulting isolated bacteria are not described as PE degrading bacteria. It will be a new disco very because the identified bacteria will be considered as a new medium for decomposition. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS In the said study, the researchers are focused in isolating bacteria and using it as a decomposer of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) plastic bags. They are limited to utilizing samples from sewage water, with the assumption that it contains various kinds of microorganisms, as a source of the bacteria that they will need in decomposing the said plastic. The researchers are also limited to using High-density Polyethylene bags which is known for its high density and strong tensile strength. Furthermore, due to its high density, this kind of plastic is not easily decomposed making it as a problem in maintaining the cleanliness of the environment. Chapter II- Review of Related Literature Plastic Plastic is a lightweight, impermeable and durable material. It has many uses to society most commonly for packaging and storage. It is presented in a variety of ways depending on the mixture and the chemical bonds. The chemical bonds of plastic make it slow down the degrading process making the high production of this material harmful to the environment. It is harmful especially when it is not disposed properly. Most plastics have organic polymers. Most of these polymers have either chains of carbon dioxide alone or with oxygen, sulphur and or nitrogen. Polyethylene Polyethylene is the most common plastic used today. Approximately 80 million tons of it is produced yearly. Its main use is for packaging. It commonly has a long carbon chain with two hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon atom in the chain. It is chemically synthesized from ethylene, which is a compound usually made from petroleum or natural gas. HDPE When there are no long chains of polyethylene branching from the carbon atoms the polyethylene is now classified as linear polyethylene. It is more costly than LDPE but even though it is costly it is sturdier. Linear polyethylene is made by a procedure called Ziegler-Natta Polymerization. Water Water has the chemical equation H2O. It covers 71% of the earth’s surface. It is in liquid form at standard pressure and temperature. Water is also a necessity of all biotic forms in the earth. Water moves continually through the water cycle. Sewage Water Sewage water is carried waste in the form of solution or suspension. It is from man’s waste from his daily activities. Classes of sewage include sanitary, commercial, industrial, agricultural and surface runoff. The wastewater from residences and institutions, carrying body wastes (primarily feces, urine and semen), washing water, food preparation wastes, laundry wastes, and other waste products of normal living, are classed as domestic or sanitary sewage. Liquid-carried wastes from stores and service establishments serving the immediate community, termed commercial wastes, are included in the sanitary or domestic sewage category if their characteristics are similar to household flows. Wastes that result from an industrial process or the production or manufacture of goods are classed as industrial wastewater. Their flows and strengths are usually more varied, intense, and concentrated than those of sanitary sewage. Surface runoff, also known as storm flow or overland flow, is that portion of precipitation that runs rapidly over the ground surface to a defined channel. Precipitation absorbs gases and particulates from the atmosphere, dissolves and leaches materials from vegetation and soil, suspends matter from the land, washes spills and debris from urban streets and highways, and carries all these pollutants as wastes in its flow to a collection point. Bacteria Bacteria are from the Kingdom of Prokaryotes. They are very abundant in the earth and are one of the very first life forms to exist. Usually a few millimetres long and are spherical, rod or spiral in form. They may be found in almost every habitat. They play a big role in recycling nutrients like in the conversion of compounds and in the fixation of nitrogen. These bacteria can adapt to environmental conditions very well and survive wherever they are placed. CHAPTER III- MATERIALS AND METHODS In making this experiment, the researchers must prepare the following materials the sample bottle must be prepared for the collection of sewage water. It has to be properly labeled to avoid misuse/confusion. The researchers will get the plastic films from a plastic processor and distributor. The next steps would be with a help of a certified scientist. In the isolation of the bacteria, either way for a dilute sample such as water you would probably have to concentrate the sample. It is best to have a few liters of sample. First filter out the particulate matter with a 20 uM filter, then you can use water sampling nitrocellulose filter disc of 0.2 um. This probably needs a vacuum pump to draw the water through. You can then rinse this disc or swab it with a moist swab and use a series of dilutions to inoculate agar plates. Take a 10 ul drop and spread it out over the agar plate using a sterilized spreader. The agar i use for water samples is mostly very dilute in nutrients so that I do not have an overgrowth of one type of bacteria. I have used 1/5th strength nutrient agar, that is the nutrients do not dilute the agar strength. There are a whole variety of water based agars but the ISP2 media diluted to 1/4 strength was one of the best.. You can also take some of the waste water and filter it and use it for making wastewater agar to see if this will produce any colonies or try adding a very small amount of diluted nutrients. As above you can also use a host of diagnostic agars to see if there are any particular groups of organisms in the water. Another factor is the temperature of incubation. This is probably the best temperature to isolate the most organisms. Use room temperature incubati on or 10C incubation to isolate the widest variety of organisms. If you use 37C you will probably only select out a few organisms. The researchers may try some under anaerobic conditions also if they have anaerobic jars. Generally at low temperatures colonies might not develop for a few weeks, so after a day you might have to wrap your plates with parafilm or keep them in moist conditions to prevent them drying out. Flowchart

The Future of Mankind Essay -- Philosophy God Philosophical Essays

The Future of Mankind If we compare the present with the past, if we trace events at all epochs to their causes, if we examine the elements of human growth, we find that Nature has raised us to what we are, not by fixed laws, but by provisional expedients, and that the principle which in one age effected the advancement of a nation, in the next age retarded the mental movement, or even destroyed it altogether. War, despotism, slavery, and superstition are now injurious to the progress of Europe, but they were once the agents by which progress was produced. By means of war the animated life was slowly raised upward in the scale, and quadrupeds passed into man. By means of war the human intelligence was brightened, and the affections were made intense; weapons and tools were invented; foreign wives were captured, and the marriages of blood relations were forbidden; prisoners were tamed, and the women set free; prisoners were exchanged, accompanied with presents; thus commerce was established, and thus, by means of war, men were first brought into amicable relations with one another. By war the tribes were dispersed all over the world, and adopted various pursuits according to the conditions by which they were surrounded. By war the tribes were compressed into the nation. It was war which founded the Chinese Empire. It was war which had locked Babylonia, and Egypt, and India. It was war which developed the genius of Greece. It was war which planted the Greek language in Asia, and so rendered possible the spread of Christianity. It was war which united the world in peace from the Cheviot Hills to the Danube and the Euphrates. It was war which saved Europe from the quietude of China. It was war which made Mecca the centre of the East. It was war which united the barons in the Crusades, and which destroyed the feudal system. Even in recent times the action of war has been useful in condensing scattered elements of nationality, and in liberating subject populations. United Italy was formed directly or indirectly by the war of 1859, 1866, and 187O. The last war realised the dreams of German poets, and united the Teutonic nations more closely than the shrewdest statesmen could have conceived to be possible a few years ago. That same war, so calamitous for France, will yet regenerate that great country, and make her more prosperous than she has ever been. Th... ...n will look upon this star as their fatherland; its progress will be their ambition; the gratitude of others their reward. These bodies which now we: wear belong to the lower animals; our minds have already outgrown them; already we look upon them with contempt. A time will come when Science will transform them by means which we cannot conjecture, and which, even if explained to us, we could not now under stand, just as the savage cannot understand electricity, magnetism, steam. Disease will be extirpated; the causes of decay will be removed; immortality will be invented. And then, the earth being small, mankind will migrate into space, and will cross the airless Saharas which separate planet from planet, and sun from sun. The earth will become a Holy Land which will be visited by pilgrims from all the quarters of the universe. Finally, men will master the forces of Nature; they will become themselves architects of systems, manufacturers of worlds. Man then will be perfect; he will then be a creator; he will therefore be what the vulgar worship as a god. But even then, he will in reality be no nearer than he is at present to the First Cause, the Inscrutable Mystery, the GOD.

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Seven

â€Å"He didn't even know you were there,† Sibby said. â€Å"He never even knew who hit him.† â€Å"That was the idea.† They were parked next to an abandoned Amtrak maintenance building on an old part of the train tracks that was completely hidden from the street. It was the place Miranda had started coming seven months earlier to work out all her new crazy energy and try things she couldn't practice anywhere else-Roller Derby was great for speed, balance, gymnastics, and shoving moves, but you weren't supposed to use advanced judo. Or weapons. She could make out marks from her last crossbow exercise on the side of the building, and the piece of railroad track she'd tied in a knot the day after Will rejected her was still lying on the ground. She'd never seen anyone else here, and she was sure she and Sibby would be pretty much invisible as long as they stayed parked. â€Å"Where did you learn to knock people out like that?† Sibby asked, sprawled out over the backseat. â€Å"Can you teach me?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Why not? Just one move?† â€Å"Absolutely not.† â€Å"Why did you say you were sorry after you hit him?† Miranda swiveled to face her. â€Å"It's my turn to ask questions. Who wants to kill you and why?† â€Å"Gods, I don't know. It could be a ton of people. It's not like that, how you think it is.† â€Å"What's it like then?† â€Å"It's complicated. But if we can just hang out until four in the morning, there's a place I can go.† â€Å"That's six hours from now.† â€Å"That'll give me time for at least ten more kisses.† â€Å"Well, of course. What else would you do while someone is trying to kill you besides go out and tongue tango with as many strangers as possible?† â€Å"They weren't trying to kill me, they were trying to abduct me. It's totally different. Come on, I want to do something fun. Something with boys.† â€Å"Or we could not do that.† â€Å"Look, just because you are a founding member of Down with Fun Inc. doesn't mean that the rest of us want to sign up.† â€Å"I am not a founding member of Down with Fun Inc. I like fun. But-â€Å" â€Å"Funkiller.† † – somehow the idea of wandering around while ‘a ton of people' are trying to kidnap you, doesn't sound fun to me. It sounds like a good way to get into the Guinness Book of World Records under ‘Plan, comma, World's Most Stupid. Plus innocent bystanders could get caught in the middle when the ton of people find you.† â€Å"‘If, not ‘when. And they don't care about anyone but me.† Miranda rolled her eyes and turned back around. â€Å"That's why they're called innocent bystanders. Because they were standing by you and accidentally got hurt.† â€Å"Then you should definitely get away from me. Seriously, although there's nothing I'd rather do than sit parked in a homeless person's bathroom for six hours with only you for company, I think it would be safer for both of us if I take my chances elsewhere. Like at that ice cream place we passed on the way here. Did you see the lips on the guy behind the counter? They were mythic. Drop me there and I'll be all set.† â€Å"You're so not going anywhere.† â€Å"Really? Because that sound you hear? Is me reaching for the door handle.† â€Å"Really? Because that sound you hear? Is me engaging the child lock.† In the rearview mirror, Miranda saw Sibby's eyes blaze. â€Å"You're really mean,† Sibby said. â€Å"Something horrible must have happened to you to make you so mean.† â€Å"I'm not mean. I'm just trying to keep you safe.† â€Å"Are you sure it's me you're thinking about? Not some skeleton in your closet? Like the time you-â€Å" Miranda turned up the radio. â€Å"Turn that down! I was talking and I'm the customer.† â€Å"Not anymore.† Sibby yelled really loud, â€Å"What happened to your sister?† â€Å"I don't know what you are talking about,† Miranda yelled back. â€Å"That's a lie.† Miranda didn't say anything. â€Å"I asked you before if you had a sister and you got all teary,† Sibby shouted in her ear. â€Å"Why won't you tell me?† Miranda turned down the radio. â€Å"Can you give me three good reasons why I should?† â€Å"It might make you feel better. It would give us something to talk about while we sit here. And if you don't tell me, I'm going to start guessing.† Miranda leaned her head back, checked her watch, and turned to stare out the window. â€Å"Be my guest.† â€Å"You bugged her so much she left? You bored her so much she left? Or did you drive her away with the huge stick you keep up your butt?† â€Å"Stop being tender with my feelings. Go on, tell me what you really think.† From the backseat Sibby said, â€Å"That might have been too mean. Sorry.† Miranda didn't say anything. â€Å"You don't really have a stick in your butt. You couldn't drive then, right? Ha-ha?† Silence. â€Å"But I mean, you started it. With the child-lock thing. I'm not a child. I'm fourteen.† More silence. â€Å"I said I was sorry.† In the backseat Sibby slumped, sighed. â€Å"Fine. Be that way.† Silence. Until, for no reason she could explain, Miranda said, â€Å"They died.† Sibby sat up quick now, leaning toward the front seat. â€Å"Who? Your sisters?† â€Å"Everyone. My whole family.† â€Å"Was it because of something you did?† â€Å"Yes. And because of something I didn't do. I think.† â€Å"Um, Grandma Grim, that doesn't make any sense. How can not doing something-wait, you think?. Don't you know what happened?† â€Å"I can't really remember anything from that part of my life.† â€Å"You mean from that day?† â€Å"No. From that year. And the year after. Anything pretty much from when I was ten until when I turned twelve. And there are a few other holes, too.† â€Å"You mean that stuff is just too painful to remember?† â€Å"No, it's just†¦ gone. All I have are impressions.† And the dreams. Really really bad dreams. â€Å"Like what?† â€Å"Like that I wasn't where I should have been and something happened and I let everyone down†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped, waved a hand in the air. â€Å"Wait, you actually think you could have stopped whatever happened to them? By yourself? When you were four years younger than me?† Miranda's throat felt like it was closing up. She'd never told anyone even that much of her real history before, never talked about it, not even with Kenzi. Ever. She swallowed hard. â€Å"I could have tried. I could have been there and tried.† â€Å"Oh my gods, now this is some kind of pity party. Yawn. Wake me when you're done.† Miranda gaped at her in the mirror. â€Å"I told you I didn't want to talk about it but you kept bugging me and now you turn into the mayor of TellItLikeItIsVille?† Swallowing again. â€Å"You little-â€Å" â€Å"You don't even know what happened! How can you feel so bad about it? Plus, I don't see how that can be your fault. You weren't even there and you were only ten. I think you should stop obsessing about some mystery thing that is ancient history and live in the mo.† â€Å"I'm sorry, did you just tell me to ‘live in the mo'?† â€Å"Yes. You know, ditch the past and try focusing on what's going on in the present. Like that the song on the radio right now? Sucks. And that there is a whole city of cute boys out there I am not kissing.† Miranda took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, Sibby went on. â€Å"I know, I know you say you're sorry to the people you knock out because you never got to say sorry to your family, and you have to keep me safe because you couldn't keep them safe. I get it now.† â€Å"That is not what's going on. I-â€Å" â€Å"Blah blah blah, insert denials here. Anyway, why does ‘safe' have to mean sitting in this car with you all night? Isn't there somewhere we could blend in? Instead of hiding? I'm good at blending. I'm like butter.† â€Å"Oh yeah, you're totally like butter. In fact, in your Madonna-called-and-she-wants-her-costume-from-the-‘Borderline'-video-back outfit, you're practically invisible.† â€Å"Good one, Funkiller. Come on, let's go somewhere.† Miranda turned all the way around in her seat and said, â€Å"Let me sound it out for you. Someone. Is. Trying. To. Kill. You.† â€Å"No. They. Are. Not. You keep saying that, but I've told you. They can't kill me. You should really work on this obsession you have with people getting killed. And I have to be honest with you, I'm getting bored. What do you have the radio set to, K-CRAP? There is no way we are staying in this car for six hours.† Miranda had to agree with her. Because if they did, it was now clear she'd kill Sibby herself. That's when she thought of the perfect place for them to go. â€Å"You want to blend in?† she asked. â€Å"Yes. With boys.† â€Å"Guys,† Miranda said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Normal American girls from this century call them guys, not boys. If you want to blend in.† For a second, Sibby looked shocked. Then she gave a little smile. â€Å"Oh. Yes. Guys.† â€Å"‘Yeah, not ‘yes. Unless you're talking to a grown-up.† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"And it's ‘Oh my God' or ‘God, not ‘gods. â€Å" â€Å"Did I-?† â€Å"Yeah. And no one ever has or ever will say, ‘live in the mo. â€Å" â€Å"Just wait.† â€Å"No. Never. Oh, and no paying guys for kisses. You don't need to. They should feel lucky to kiss you.† Sibby frowned. â€Å"Why are you being so nice to me and helping me? You don't even like me.† â€Å"Because I know what it's like to be far from home, alone, trying to fit in. And to never be able to tell anyone the truth about who you are.† After they'd been driving in silence for a few minutes, Sibby said, â€Å"Have you ever killed someone with your bare hands?† Miranda looked at her in the rearview. â€Å"Not yet.† â€Å"Ha-ha.†

The Early History of Flight

Around 400 BC - Flight in China The Chinese’s discovery of a kite that could fly in the air started humans thinking about flying. Kites were used by the Chinese in religious ceremonies. They built many colorful kites for fun, also. More sophisticated kites were used to test weather conditions. Kites have been important to the invention of flight as they were the forerunner to balloons and gliders. Humans Try to Fly like Birds For many centuries, humans have tried to fly just like the birds and have studied the flight of winged creatures. Wings made of feathers or light weight wood have been attached to arms to test their ability to fly. The results were often disastrous as the muscles of the human arms are not like a birds and cannot move with the strength of a bird. Hero and the Aeolipile The ancient Greek engineer, Hero of Alexandria, worked with air pressure and steam to create sources of power. One experiment that he developed was the aeolipile, which used jets of steam to create rotary motion. To do this, Hero mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam, and the gas traveled through pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the gas to escape, which gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to rotate. The importance of the aeolipile is that it marks the start of engine created movement will later prove essential in the history of flight. 1485 Leonardo da Vinci’s Ornithopter and the Study of Flight. Leonardo da Vinci  made the first real studies of flight in the 1480s. He had over 100 drawings that illustrated his theories on bird and mechanical flight. The drawings illustrated the wings and tails of birds, ideas for man carrying machines and devices for the testing of wings. His Ornithopter flying machine was never actually created. It was a design that Leonardo da Vinci created to show how man could fly. The modern day helicopter is based on this concept. Leonardo da Vincis notebooks on flight were re-examined in the 19th century by aviation pioneers. 1783 - Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier and The Flight of the First Hot Air Balloon Two brothers,  Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, were inventors of the first hot air balloon. They used the smoke from a fire to blow hot air into a silk bag. The silk bag was attached to a basket. The hot air then rose and allowed the balloon to be lighter than air. In 1783, the first passengers in the colorful balloon were a sheep, rooster and duck. It climbed to a height of about 6,000 feet and traveled more than one mile. After this initial success, the brothers began to send men up in hot air balloons. The first manned hot air balloon flight was carried out on November 21, 1783 and the passengers were Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent. 1799-1850s - George Cayley’s Gliders Sir George Cayley is considered the father of aerodynamics. Cayley experimented with wing design, distinguished between lift and drag and formulated the concepts of vertical tail surfaces, steering rudders, rear elevators and air screws. He also designed many different versions of gliders that used the movements of the body for control. A young boy, whose name is not known, was the first to fly one of Cayleys gliders. It was the first glider capable of carrying a human. For over 50 years, George Cayley made improvements to his gliders. Cayley changed the shape of the wings so that the air would flow over the wings correctly. He also designed a tail for the gliders to help with the stability. He then tried a biplane design to add strength to the glider. Additionally, Cayley recognized that there would be a need for machine power if the flight was to be in the air for a long time.