Food Waste Science Fair Projects

Food Science Fair Projects

Food science fair projects can examine many different food science concepts. Food waste, for example, can be studied with a science fair project. You can examine how food waste impacts the environment and how it can be used to improve the environment.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of industrial food waste before and after treatment compared to the BOD of the Yakima River.

I became interested in this idea when I found out that some industrial companies had to own and manage their own wastewater plants. Then I started talking to an expert who told me about the importance of biochemical oxygen demand to our river and our food chain.

The information gained from this experiment could help the people who manage wastewater plants, whose water eventually ends up in rivers, to gain a better understanding of the BOD impact to the environment and organisms, like fish, which play a big part in the food chain.

HYPOTHESIS

My first hypothesis was that the river water would have a lower biochemical oxygen demand than industrial food waste before treatment.

My second hypothesis was that the river water would have a higher biochemical oxygen demand than industrial food waste after treatment.

I based my hypothesis on an interview with Carol Hyatt, Tree Top’s wastewater plant manager. She said, “River water is cleaner than most of our plant’s runoff.” I think this is correct because river water is full of natural waste while industrial waste would be filled with man-made waste and chemicals. After treatment nearly all the waste in the industrial runoff should be gone, if the system is well designed.

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

• The river sampled
• The place in the river where samples were taken
• The treatment plant sampled (Tree Top)
• The testing equipment
• Amount of sample taken
• Storage place (the tree top waste water plant incubator)
• Type of container
• Processing procedures
• Temperature of the incubator (20°)
• Temperature when the pH was preformed
• Heat of the retractor

MATERIALS

Food waste science fair projects continues at used food science fair projects.