Watching Grass Grow. By: Aaron Nguyen Will Lancett Walker White Royce Turner. CHEM 2614 Dr.Chun Fall 2016 EMPACTS. literally.

Transcription

1 Watching Grass Grow CHEM 2614 Dr.Chun Fall 2016 literally. EMPACTS By: Aaron Nguyen Will Lancett Walker White Royce Turner

2 The Problem The project goal was to remove the pungent smell of a seaweed based fertilizer that NWACC Fitness and Conditioning, Coach Hal Roberts, had made. Trimethylamine (C 3 H 9 N) is an organic compound that is the product of the decomposition of plant and animal products. It is what makes the fishy smell. During clinical trials, it was observed that the lawn being fertilized, retained the unpleasant fishy smell that the fertilizer had. This is where Hal Roberts came to the students of Dr. Chun and Mr. Siebert for help

3 The Solution In the spring of 2016, groups from Dr. Chun s Organic Chemistry class and Ted Siebert s soil science class broke into groups in a collaborative effort to solve this problem. Several methods were used in attempt to rid the fertilizer of its foul smell including: Autoclave, Coffee, Vinegar, Hydrochloric Acid, and Hydrogen Peroxide The method found to have a lasting effect in dampening the smell of the concoction, was creating a mixture between the Fertilizer and 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

4 The Solution When the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide was added in different concentrations to the liquid fertilizer (1 part seaweed extract concentrate to 100 parts distilled water), it had a marginal effect on the overall smell of the mixture. The more peroxide added, the less it stunk; but as the smell improved, the nutrient content would decrease, and the cost of the fertilizer would increase. We needed to make a compromise between having a desireable smell, and maintaining a high nutrient content in order to make a viable, organic fertilizer option for homeowners.

5 The Test The ratios mixed for the purpose of determining a less offensive yet tolerable smell were 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25 (fertilizer/hydrogen peroxide) The group members had a bias of which mixture smelled better or worse so we created a smell survey on the NWACC Campus to see what the general public thought of our new mixtures. Although the smell survey produced interesting results, there was not a distinctive choice between the three mixtures and the control. These inconclusive results meant that we did not have to chose the higher ratios of peroxide, which would allow us to have a better NPK content. ( NPK- Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium)

6 Smell Survey Good turnout for the survey Tyler showing off the control and star crunch incentives Incentives for the surveyors

7 Results to Smell Survey

8 The Application Since the public survey did not produce decisive results, the fertilizers needed to be applied to turf, and observed to make a final conclusion. This is where the group from Dr. Chun s Organic Chemistry Class Fall 2016 started their work. As a group it was decided that we would test the ratios of 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 0/0 or Control. (Ratios are Fertilizer/ Hydrogen Peroxide) 100/0 Control 90/10 80/20 70/30 60/40

9 Materials we used Planter boxes Topsoil without added nutrients Vigoro Tall Fescue Grass Seed Watering hose 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Concentrated Seaweed Extract Powder General chemistry glassware Spray bottles for each mix of fertilizer Cardboard partition for application of fertilizer Ruler to track weekly growth Camera equipment for time lapse (Canon T3i) NWACC s Climate Controlled Greenhouse

10 Making the Fertilizer Soluble Seaweed Extract Powder Hydrogen Peroxide Water

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14 Final Products

15 Planting the grass October 3rd is when we first planted the grass As a group we: Filled each planter tray nearly to the top with soil Spread grass seed evenly throughout the planter tray. (85 grams of seed per tray) Covered the exposed seeds with about 1/2 of soil Watered seeds Setup camera to document growth Royce and Will watered on Monday and Wednesday, while Aaron and Walker watered on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each watering was then put into a log book for record

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21 Germination The bag of grass seed stated that it could take 2-4 weeks for seed germination to occur, but we first documented growth at only 4 days after planting!

22 Adding Fertilizer Our main focus of this experiment was not to find the optimal amount of nutrients to apply per sq foot of turf area. We wanted to know if the addition of hydrogen peroxide to the fertilizer would still allow the grass to grow better than a control group with only seeds and soil. Another question that we needed to answer was, what amount of fertilizer added would cause the lawn itself to stink? We already knew that the fertilizer itself smelled bad, but was it possible to add just enough to where the grass would grow better than without, yet not add enough to make the lawn itself smell bad?

23 Adding Fertilizer Once a week for four weeks, fertilizer was added at increasing amounts each week. Week one - 10 ml per tray Week two - 15 ml per tray Week three - 20 ml per tray Week four - 25 ml per tray October 5th October 12th October 19th October 26th Observations- Researchers concluded that immediately following application of the fertilizer the grass would smell just like the liquid fertilizer(not good). But if the grass was watered, the fertilizer would enter the soil, and the grass wouldn't stink!

24 How we watched grass grow

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27 Monitoring Growth

28 Monitoring Growth

29 Monitoring Growth

30 Monitoring Growth

31 Overall Growth Chart

32 Our Conclusion The results gathered were very favorable. It was observed that the fertilizer without peroxide grew better than all others, and as a group, we concluded that if the grass was watered following the application of fertilizer, even the mixture without peroxide did not retain any sort of fishy smell.

33 Time Lapse

34 Improvements Our fertilizer had good results when tested on turf, but how can we make it better? Our fertilizer contains high levels of Potassium, but it is not a viable source of added Nitrogen. Nitrogen is a component of chlorophyll and therefore essential for photosynthesis, so we wanted to improve our fertilizer by adding more nitrogen.

35 Addition of Nitrogen Hal Roberts came to us with another great idea to improve the fertilizer by adding nitrogen. He suggested that we use a product called Feather Meal, which is a by product of processing chickens. Feather Meal contains high levels of nitrogen and is used in different fertilization methods for both lawns and crops. So we decided to give it a try

36 Adding the Chicken Meal When we mixed the Chicken Meal with our Seaweed Extract powder, it was found that the Chicken meal was insoluble in water. After 1 week our newest mixture actually smelled much worse than our original mixture of only seaweed extract powder and water. Here you can see the chicken meal is insoluble

37 Applying the Chicken Meal Although the Chicken Meal was not water soluble, and it possibly was the worst smelling thing on the planet, we decided to test it out, just to see if it would make the grass grow better than before. With this round we tested: Seaweed & Chicken Meal Seaweed Only 90/10 Seaweed Chicken meal And Hydrogen Peroxide 60/40 Seaweed Chicken meal And Hydrogen Peroxide Control

38 Results #2 Although each tray grew very well, surprisingly this group did not behave as we had hoped, and the differences in growth, if any, were negligible. The results were inconclusive because of the rapid and indistinguishable growth rates of each sample. And this made the grass smell worse than you could ever imagine.

39 Future Development Further testing and research is needed to determine the final additives to our organic fertilizer which will be nitrogen, and possibly other trace nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, copper, iron, chloride, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. Finding the optimal balance of these nutrients will be necessary to make our fertilizer the best on the market This fertilizer, once completed, will give consumers a fast-acting organic fertilizer, so they don't have to turn to synthetic fertilizers in order to feed their lawns and gardens the essential nutrients that they need to grow big and strong.

40 Thanks for Watching! Special thanks to the NWACC lab staff for all the help over the past two semesters, and for providing us with ample amounts of space to grow our plants in the NWACC greenhouse. Acknowledgements Hal Roberts, Dr. Chun, Mr Siebert, Mallory Pummill, Gary Bates, Dianne Phillips, Volunteers of Public Smell Survey

41 Thanks for Watching! Spring 2016 Organic Chemistry Dr. Chun Tyler Eck, Thomas Brown, Jessica Pendergraft, Jordan Slater, Carson Jones, Timothy Moore, Courtney Troxtel Jordan Means, Isaac Torres Spring 2016 Soil Science Mr. Siebert Tyler Eck, Thomas Brown, Will Lancett, Tyler Petitjean Fall 2016 Organic Chemistry Dr. Chun Will Lancett, Aaron Nguyen, Walker White, Royce Turner