Week 8: May 22, 2015

Week 8 consisted of further testing the prototype and researching a solution for filtering the dye. The idea of using coconut oil was abandoned due additional research. Raw aloe vera that would be readily available on a tropical island is a thick oil that should be capable of capturing the dye. The aloe vera will be obtained in the upcoming week. The filter was also tested using the same conditions as the initial testing. No major alterations had been made to the filter and similar results were expected. A copper solution was poured through the filter first. Like before, the blue tint of the solution was no longer present in the collection container. The particulate solution containing glass beads was also successfully filtered out. The final test involved the nile dye solution. As expected, the red dye was not filtered, leading to a failure for this part of the performance testing. The filter was cleaned by running clear water through it for an extended period of time to get the dye out of the cloth.