Google Science Fair, a major competition for students who show excellence in Science and Technology has released the names of 15 finalists from all over the globe. Indian Teenager Shrishti Asthana has made the country proud by featuring in the top 15 in the 2013 edition of the same. She competed in the 15-16 age group category.
15 Judges overlooked the Google Science Fair 2013 competition (link) and the finalists were selected based on creative Ideas, Solid Research, good and clear structure among other criteria's. Shrishti's innovative and green idea of Removing Detergents from Water caught the Judges eye and this led them to place her in the Top 15.
Shristi presented the following Project to judges : "Solar Light Assisted nanoZnO Photo Catalytic Mineralization- The Green Technique for the degradation of Detergents.". Through her research she believes Nano ZnO assisted photo catalytic degradation using solar light is emerging as new green option for the treatment of contaminated water. The advantages of her include fast reaction, short treatment time, less costs, less exposure for workers, complete reduction pathway to non-toxic end products is possible and less equipment.
Through this research paper she aimed to design a batch reaction system demonstrating that the representative detergent Cetyl Pyridinium Chloride can be effectively degraded by using nanoZnO. She used the following methods and techniques in her experiment: X-Ray Diffraction, photo catalytic degradation, UV spectroscopy and COD determination.
Shtristi explains that a field trip to Ludhiana based Textile factory gave her the motivation to move ahead with her project. She asked the owner of the factory “Was the waste treated before leaving the factory?” And he jokingly said “Do you treat the detergent water that leaves your house after the process of washing clothes?” This played in her mind even after the visit and she thought about the enormous amount of detergent water that leaves our houses and causes huge pollution in our cities and this lead her to look for a potential GREEN method for the degradation of detergent water.
To Know More about Shristi Asthana's Project Click here
