Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2011HI320B

Development of an Advanced Surface Tensiometer for Measuring Water Quality

Institute: Hawaii
Year Established: 2011 Start Date: 2011-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $10,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $20,391

Principal Investigators: Yi Zuo

Project Summary: Characterizing the physical, chemical and biological properties of potable and recreational waters plays a vital role in assessing and controlling water quality. The objective of this proposal is to develop an advanced surface tensiometer for assessing water quality. In addition to surface tension measurement, this surface tensiometer will be integrated with advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for detection of specific contaminants. The resultant surface tensiometer will evaluate water quality based on four measurable parameters: 1) dynamic surface tension; 2) surface dilatational elasticity; 3) microscopy structure of adsorbed contaminant films using atomic force microscopy; and 4) chemical analysis of contaminants using Raman spectroscopy. This advanced surface tensiometer allows determination of specific water contaminants and evaluation of water quality.