With the development of global industrialization, environmental pollution has attracted widespread attention, especially the pollution of water resources. Our country's rivers, lakes and coastal areas are seriously polluted, and industrial wastewater, especially the wastewater generated by the textile printing and dyeing industry, is the main source of pollution. These wastewaters contain large amounts of chemical dyes and other harmful substances, posing a threat to human health and the aquatic ecological environment.

Membrane technology has been widely used in wastewater treatment because it can effectively separate pollutants in wastewater. However, current membrane technology faces two major challenges: membrane fouling and high operating costs. Membrane fouling may lead to a decrease in membrane performance, thereby affecting the effectiveness of wastewater treatment. The high operating costs limit the application of this technology in more situations.

https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/403809834
To this end, our team is actively developing a sustainable solution aimed at solving these problems faced by membrane technology. We hope to develop a new membrane technology with more stable performance, lower cost and more environmental protection through technological innovation and material research. This will help to treat printing and dyeing wastewater more effectively and ensure the cleanliness and safety of water resources.

With the development of global industrialization, environmental pollution has attracted widespread attention, especially the pollution of water resources. Our country's rivers, lakes and coastal areas are seriously polluted, and industrial wastewater, especially the wastewater generated by the textile printing and dyeing industry, is the main source of pollution. These wastewaters contain large amounts of chemical dyes and other harmful substances, posing a threat to human health and the aquatic ecological environment.
We need to treat printing and dyeing wastewater. What is worrying is that there have been recent news reports of printing and dyeing wastewater treatment workers being poisoned and even killed at work. This makes people think, why can't we find a safer way to deal with it?

Membrane technology has been widely used in wastewater treatment because it can effectively separate pollutants in wastewater. However, current membrane technology faces two major challenges: membrane fouling and high operating costs. In order to find a safer and more efficient method, our team decided to develop a treatment device for this wastewater, hoping to better solve the current problem.

Today, the fashion industry has become the second most polluting industry in the world, and its impact on the environment is still increasing with the development of the fashion industry.
Water pollution: 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile printing and dyeing wastewater treatment. 200,000 tons of dye are lost as wastewater in developing countries every year. 90% of wastewater is discharged directly into rivers without treatment.
Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province, China, is currently the largest textile industry base in China. The textile industry is Shaoxing's pillar industry. While the textile printing and dyeing industry has brought economic development to Shaoxing, the discharge of printing and dyeing wastewater has had an impact on the surrounding environment and people's health.
Pollutants in printing and dyeing wastewater mainly come from fiber materials, textile slurries and fuels, chemicals, surfactants and finishing agents used in dyeing and finishing processing. In the printing and dyeing process, 20% of the fiber weight of impurities is discharged into the wastewater through pre-treatment, and the average amount of added dyeing materials discharged into the wastewater is more than 10%. According to statistics, there are more than 400 types of pollutants in wastewater discharged from printing and dyeing factories. Due to different processing procedures, the water quality changes of printing and dyeing wastewater also vary greatly.

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Background Investigation

Background Investigation In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the current status and challenges of the wastewater treatment industry, we decided to step into this field ourselves and conduct in-depth research.
We participated in a water treatment technology and equipment exhibition
At the exhibition, we were exposed to the current cutting-edge technologies and solutions for domestic wastewater treatment. At the same time, we also took the initiative to introduce our research directions and preliminary ideas, attracting the attention of some industry experts and bosses. They expressed a strong interest in our project and gave us a lot of valuable suggestions.

Wastewater treatment boss:

1. First interview: We mainly asked about the current treatment methods of wastewater plants, as well as the main problems and difficulties encountered during the treatment process. Boss Xue candidly shared the technologies, equipment and methods they used, as well as the challenges they faced, such as high processing costs, technical bottlenecks, etc.

2. Second interview: After our hardware prototype was completed, we found the boss Xue for an online interview, showed him our results, and asked him if he was willing to try to use our device. After a detailed introduction and demonstration, Boss Xue expressed his willingness to cooperate with us for further testing and cooperation.

Residents around the wastewater plant:

Conclusion:

Through this background investigation, we have become more clear about our research direction and goals. In the next research and development process, we will fully consider the opinions and suggestions of all parties, strive to innovate, and bring real breakthroughs and improvements to the printing and dyeing wastewater treatment industry.

Membrane technology has been widely used in wastewater treatment. However, current membrane technology faces two major challenges: membrane fouling and high operating costs.
As high school students, we understand our limitations and it is difficult for us to deal with technical problems such as membrane fouling. Therefore, we decided to start from another aspect: looking for a low-cost filter material. On this basis, we will continue to study how to solve the problem of membrane fouling in the future.

Finding the Answer: Bacterial Cellulose

In order to find suitable materials, we began to consult a lot of information and communicated with our own teachers. After reviewing the information and with the help of the teacher, a material called "bacterial cellulose" caught our attention.
[1]范秋瑾,洪秋林,吴之婧,等.磺化酞菁钴-细菌纤维素复合材料对染料废水降解的研究[J].杭州师范大学学报（自然科学版）, 2022(002):021.
[2]张艳, 孙怡然, 于飞, 等. 细菌纤维素及其复合材料在环境领域应用的研究进展[J]. 复合材料学报, 2021, 38(8): 2418-2427. doi:  10.13801/j.cnki.fhclxb.20210402.002

Bacterial cellulose is a natural biological material produced by certain microorganisms during fermentation. This kind of cellulose has a compact structure, uniform pore size, and good filtration performance. More importantly, its production cost is relatively low, it is renewable, and it is very eco-friendly.

Interview with Professor

In order to further confirm the application value of bacterial cellulose in wastewater treatment, during our process of making the first-generation hardware, we found Professor Yin Zhinan from "Jinan University" who studies biomaterials. When we asked him whether bacterial cellulose could be used to filter pollutants from printing and dyeing wastewater, he said it was a very promising idea. Bacterial cellulose not only has excellent mechanical properties and filtration effects, but also does not produce harmful substances during its production process and is environmentally friendly.

Conclusion

Based on the above research, our team decided to focus on the application of bacterial cellulose as a filtration material in the next phase of the project. We believe that this material is expected to provide a new, low-cost solution to solve membrane technology problems in printing and dyeing wastewater treatment. After that, we will continue to explore how to further solve the problem of membrane fouling and contribute to the protection of water resources and the environment.

Xin ZHAO, Jianli XIONG, Yelin REN, Jiaxin YANG, Wei LI, Xuerong HAN. Synthesis and identification of bacterial cellulose[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2020, 39(S2): 262-268.
After weeks of hard work and a lot of data inquiry, our team decided to use the cellulose production operon of Gluconobacter xylosus to produce bacterial cellulose.

Operating techniques

The cellulose production ability of this bacterium is quite outstanding among many bacteria. However, considering the difficulty of genetic manipulation and the convenience of experimental conditions, we are faced with a challenge: how to effectively transfer the key genes for cellulose production into a model organism that is easier to manipulate?

We discussed with our biology teacher, and we decided to use the double enzyme digestion technology mentioned in our sophomore high school textbook. This superb biotechnology allows us to extract gene fragments related to cellulose production from Gluconobacter xylosus. (i.e., the cellulose production operon) was accurately cut out and inserted into the DNA plasmid of E. coli. As a model organism widely used in genetic engineering, Escherichia coli provides us with a stable and efficient production platform.

After successfully preparing bacterial cellulose floc gel, in order to test its effect in printing and dyeing wastewater treatment, we need to design a special "black box" filtration equipment. Here are the brief steps for hardware design:

1. Printing and dyeing wastewater simulation:

Considering safety issues, we used the simulation of printing and dyeing wastewater when simulating filtration to ensure the safety of team members.

Material:

1. Food pigments: can be used as dyes in simulated printing and dyeing wastewater. Add an appropriate amount of food coloring to the water to give it a distinct color. Not only is this safe, it's also easily accessible.
2. Salt: Dissolving table salt in water can simulate some of the mineral salts and conductivity in wastewater.
3. Shampoo or dishwashing liquid: A small amount of shampoo or dishwashing liquid can simulate surfactants in wastewater.
4. Sand or soil: Add a small amount of fine sand or soil to simulate suspended solids in wastewater.
5. Vinegar or baking soda: can simulate the pH changes of wastewater. Use vinegar to make water acidic and baking soda to make water alkaline.

Note: It can only roughly simulate the characteristics of printing and dyeing wastewater, and is not completely equivalent to real printing and dyeing wastewater.

2. Filter material selection:

Bacterial cellulose floc gel is the main filter material. It has a high degree of porosity and good coagulation properties, and can effectively capture suspended solids and pigments in wastewater. Other filter media: activated carbon, sand, sand to enhance adsorption of dyes and other chemicals.

3. Filter design

After completing the above steps, the simulated printing and dyeing wastewater is added to the "black box" for filtration testing, and then the quality of the filtered water is analyzed to confirm its purification effect.

Fabrication of simulated filtration hardware

Fish shop owner interview

To create preliminary simulated filtration hardware, we decided to first look at common water filtration technologies. We chose a local fish store because the water quality requirements for fish tank cleaning and maintenance are relatively high.
During the communication with the boss, the boss showed us a variety of fish tank filters used in his store. We learned about the water source filters for the fish tanks. Through the conversation with the boss, we learned about the working principles of these filters, such as using activated carbon, biological Stone, mechanical filter cotton, etc. These materials can not only effectively remove impurities in the water, but also maintain the pH value and mineral content of the water, providing a good living environment for fish.
Under the guidance of our boss, we had a preliminary understanding of how to build an effective simulated filtration system.

First generation hardware photos

After completing the first version of our hardware, although we have achieved some preliminary results, we have also discovered some problems, especially in terms of environmental protection and efficiency.

Our team held internal discussions and we agreed that bacterial cellulose is a good choice, but the cost of directly producing bacterial cellulose is relatively high and not environmentally friendly. We consider using plant cellulose as raw material. This plant cellulose can be extracted by recycling waste paper, which not only reduces costs but also greatly improves the environmental protection of the project.

Data research

We want to make the waste paper recycling process more environmentally friendly, and plant cellulose is the main component of waste paper produced by the paper industry. We have learned that bacterial cellulose and plant cellulose have similar compositions and can be transformed into each other. We can use plant cellulose as the raw material of bacterial cellulose.

https://www.zhihu.com/question/40230696

https://www.biomart.cn/news/16/3007598.htm#:~:text

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Design

Specifically, we need to design a waste paper degradation system, which is divided into a hardware part and a biological part. In the biological part, we inserted plasmids capable of separately expressing the relevant cellulose-degrading enzymes into E. coli. Then we put the first waste paper treatment strain we designed into the hardware system and culture it for a period of time to allow the strain to fully produce the relevant degrading enzymes.
Then put the shredded waste paper into the first hardware device, and then start the ultrasonic crushing system in the first hardware device, which can break our E. coli and release related enzymes that degrade cellulose. Finally, stir thoroughly to allow the cellulose hydrolase to fully degrade the waste paper, and the product is glucose that can be used as an energy source for subsequent bacteria.
Then we put all the raw materials produced by the first system into the second hardware system, and then added the E. coli with the bacterial cellulose production system. This E. coli will use the glucose produced by the first system as raw material A large amount of bacterial cellulose is produced. After the appropriate amount of bacterial cellulose is produced, the crushing system is turned on to break the bacteria and fully release the bacterial cellulose.

Bacterial cellulose not only has excellent performance in the field of water treatment, but also attracts attention in the medical field due to its biocompatibility, breathability, water absorption and other properties. Especially in wound treatment, bacterial cellulose is regarded as an ideal wound excipient, which can provide a clean and moist environment for the wound, thus promoting healing and reducing the possibility of scarring.
As we were conducting in-depth research on the versatility of bacterial cellulose, we learned that the RDFZ China team was working on a related medical project. Their project team was looking for a material that was both environmentally friendly and safe to use in the development of their new medical product. We had in-depth discussions with RDFZ China team members, and after understanding their needs, we proactively proposed to provide them with the bacterial cellulose we developed as one of the key materials for their project.

After our project entered a relatively mature stage, we once again conducted an online interview with the owner of the wastewater plant.
We first demonstrated to our boss in detail how our hardware works, explaining the function and design ideas of each part, with special emphasis on the use of bacterial cellulose for filtration.
He said that our design is very creative and practical. If our technology can really achieve the desired results, he is willing to try it. At the same time, he also pointed out that as an actual operating factory, stability and cost are issues that he is very concerned about. He hopes that we can maintain product performance while reducing costs, and optimize the convenience of installation and maintenance.

Offline activity

We also produced brochures. In addition to being used for educational purposes, it also provides a brief introduction to our project. This helps to raise people's attention and awareness of printing and dyeing wastewater pollution and environmental protection.

Network platform

In order to make more people pay attention to wastewater pollution and environmental protection, we chose Xiaohongshu, a social platform popular among young people in recent years, as our propaganda position. We understand that mere promotion and narrative are not enough to attract users’ attention, so we decided to adopt a more interesting and life-like way to showcase our projects.
We have produced a series of graphic content that describes in detail and vividly how we started from scratch, tried and improved again and again, and finally developed our products.
Thanks to the promotion of Xiaohongshu, we have not only improved the public's environmental awareness, but also attracted a group of people who are deeply interested in environmental protection. This provides us with a valuable talent reserve and a solid backing for our future project advancement.

Through Xiaohongshu’s promotional activities, we successfully attracted widespread attention from society and brought a positive impact to our project. We believe that through continuous education and publicity, more people can join the ranks of environmental protection and work together to create a better earth.