The Neutralizer

The Neutralizer is a system that is going to make revolutionary changes to our lakes. Acid rain is an issue that harms marine life but with the Neutralizer, the effects of acid rain will be reduced. Unbalanced pH in lakes hurts marine plants and animals by causing them damage. The Neutralizer can fix this problem by detecting levels of pH in lakes and then releasing either acidic or basic materials into the lake in order to correct the pH. Our solution could positively change the lives of both humans and animals if it was scaled globally because biodiversity would be high and water quality in lakes would improve worldwide.

The specific problem we are solving is the improper pH balance in lakes that contributes to poor water quality. In addition, it helps to reduce the harmful effects of acid rain. Pollution can change a water’s pH and byproducts of air and water pollution are acidic. Therefore, it changes the pH of water. If pH balance in a lake is too high or too low, the aquatic organisms within it will die. Low pH is highly acidic and can burn fish's skin. Our solution would help these problems.

Our solution is a system that can be placed in lakes in order to determine, monitor and correct their pH. When a pH of the freshwater lake gets too high (8.0 or higher) or too low (6.0 or lower) it will alert local environmentalists or caretakers (if there are any) looking over the lake. Whether or not someone is looking out for the organisms in these lakes the mechanism of the device can work on its own. The system will balance out the pH and restore it to a normal level by releasing either acidic or basic materials into the environment. For example, when the pH is too low, the system will send an alert and then release the proper amount of Carbon Dioxide emissions into the lake- which will help lower the pH because it will bond with the H2O elements and create excess H+ ions. If the pH is too high, the system will release a quantity of calcium carbonate (limestone) into the soil. Limestone can buffer (neutralize) the acidification of freshwater. This will help increase the pH because it will bond with the H2O elements and create excess OH- ions.

Our solution serves aquatic animals and plants living in lakes. The solution will improve the water in which they inhabit and maintain the level of biodiversity in their ecosystem. Our system does this by balancing the pH in lakes and preventing consequences of highly alkaline water on fish. Fish may suffer from damage or death due to unbalanced pH. Our solution aids marine life.

The problem we are addressing, the solution we designed, and the population we are serving align with the Challenge because our solution aims to preserve and restore marine life to fresh water lakes all across the globe. Our project is a data collector that tracks the pH of ecosystems. When the pH of lakes changes, the results can be detrimental for various marine plant and animal species that need fresh water to survive. We hope to improve water quality with our plan and maintain biodiversity.

We selected this stage of development for our solution because there is a central idea that our product is based on. The concept we are exploring is how to neutralize lakes in order to improve water quality. The system we designed was constructed in order to carry out the ideas we have. Our project is a concept because we are creating a system to benefit ecosystems. We selected this stage of development because our solution addresses a specific problem and essentially how we are going to fix it. This stage also allowed us to explore the different options on how the pH can be restored and we can adjust the system for our specific proposal. Our solution doesn’t provide the specific procedure that will take place in the system so it is seen as a first concept that can be expanded on in the future.