In situ methods for automated determination of water quality index (IQA-ANA)

• Grant number: 16/07200-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: June 01, 2017
• End date: May 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Cristina de Resende
• Grantee: Juliana Cristina de Resende
• Company: Amanda Julião da Costa - ME
• City: São Carlos

Abstract

This project describes the study of chemical analysis methods focused on the quality of water so that, by adapting these, it will be possible to automate the calculation of the Water Quality Index. Monitoring of this index is critical to guarantee the multiple uses of water, either for consumer, industrial and agricultural use or supply. Water scarcity due to abusive use, increases the necessity of continuous monitoring of water, especially because of the difficulties of managing this dynamic resource and for which remedial conservation measures have proven insufficient. There is a gap in both structural and analytical issues (management, transport and storage of samples; low frequency and poorly geographically distributed data acquisition) when it comes to water quality management. Thus, it is proposed the development of automated methods of physicochemical analysis applied to quantification of parameters related to the WQI and not yet provided by most suppliers of hydrologic instrumentation: determination of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, fecal coliforms and biochemical oxygen demand. Through this development the applicant will add value to its products in relation to instrumentation and methods available in the market, composed by the use of high cost sensors and laboratory analysis often unavailable or distant of the assessment point. This proposed development has three stages defined as: I - Determination of parameters through methods of Analytical Chemistry; II - Design of a prototype for automation of chemical analysis methods; III - Validation of the results obtained by the prototype . Standard and alternative methods will be tested in order to obtain the WQI parameters mentioned above. Those with better results and automation feasibility will be chosen. Then, for each parameter automatic settings will be used to obtain concentrations of the parameters in water samples. Techniques of absorption associated with the use of spectrometers in the visible region will serve as the first solution approach. At all stages analytical efficiency tools will be used for proper selection of the method of analysis and validation of results, manually and automatically. At the end of development, it is expected to be obtained a prototype with embedded control, which will be capable of measuring the parameters of interest with the same analytical efficiency of conventional methods. This prototype should also present a cost similar to the one of manufacture probes available on the market, so that it's possible to become a product in the future. (AU)