1. TAML Degradation of Food Dye
By: Massimo Adams
Grade 9
Pittsburgh Central Catholic

2. Problem Water systems are polluted with: Antibiotics
Pharmaceuticals (Estrogen, etc.)
Mercury
Sulfur
Sewage
Fertilizers
Organics
Cleaning projects
Dyes and other colored agents

3. Problem(Continued)
The clothing industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world
Dye Houses are dumping untreated wastewater into streams and rivers
Dyes get into water systems and add unwanted toxins and colors to the water

4. Food Dye non-toxic dye Studies have shown colors affect taste
For this reason companies add colors to enhance dining experience
non-toxic dye
Chosen because
Easy to obtain
Serves as simple model of environmental
color effluent problems

5. Green Chemistry
Chemistry designed to perform the same jobs as regular chemistry without the environmental hazards.
Prevents pollution at the molecular level
Reduces the negative impacts of chemical projects
Lessons and sometimes eliminates hazard from existing products and processes

6. TAML GREEN catalyst engineered by Dr. Terry Collins at CMU
Accelerates H2O2 oxidation reaction
Highly selective
Made of common elements
(C, H, O, N, Fe)
Economical
Easy to synthesize

7. TAML(Continued) Low working concentrations Degrades quickly
Produces non-toxic byproducts
Practical uses include:
Textile dye bleaching
Pulp and paper bleaching
Water cleaning
Laundry stain remover
Petroleum refining
Rapid destruction of bio-chem warfare

8. Hydrogen Peroxide Pale blue liquid
Used as disinfectant, antiseptic, and oxidizer
Works with TAML in oxidation chemistry processes
Weak acid
Is the ideal green reagent:
Nontoxic
Inexpensive
Disposable

9. TAML and Hydrogen Peroxide
Work together to clean water
TAML catalyzes peroxide reaction
Has been extensively tested and has effectively degraded numerous chemical pollutants
Fast Acting

10. Purpose
To determine if TAML and Hydrogen Peroxide are effective at degrading food dye in water

11. Hypotheses
Null- The TAML and Hydrogen Peroxide will not significantly degrade the food dye
Alternative - The TAML and Hydrogen Peroxide will significantly degrade the food dye

12. Materials Science Kit Educator Spectrophotometer
TAML – Older Version(2007)
Super Active TAML (2017)
Hydrogen Peroxide
60 13x100 mm borosilicate culture test tubes
Blue food coloring
Red food coloring
Macropipette
Micropipette
Tap Water
Test tube rack
Pipette tips
15mL conical tubes

13. Procedure
A Red and Blue stock solution was made by diluting 0.1mL of food dye and 9.9mL of water into a 15mL conical

14. Procedure(Continued)
The following ingredients were added to 13x100 mm borosilicate culture test tubes
Control
H2O2
Only
Super Active TAML and H2O2
TAML and H2O2
Food Coloring Stock Solution
5mL
10mM
0mL
0.1mL
TAML
20mM
0.2mL
Water
0.3mL

15. Procedure(Continued)
A reading of the absorbance at 600 nanometers was take for the blue dye at 0 min, 1 min, 5 min, and 10 min
A reading of the absorbance at 500 nanometers was take for the red dye at 0 min, 1 min, 5 min, and 10 min

17. Dunnett Test (Red) 0min 1min 5min 10min 1-2 Hydrogen peroxide 1-3
Groups Compared
0min
1min
5min
10min
1-2
Hydrogen peroxide
Not significant
Significant
1-3
Super Active TAML
1-4
TAML
Not Significant

19. Dunnett Test (Blue) 0min 1min 5min 10min 1-2 Hydrogen Peroxide 1-3
Groups Compared
0min
1min
5min
10min
1-2
Hydrogen
Peroxide
Not significant
Significant
1-3
Super Active TAML
1-4
TAML
Not Significant
Not

20. Conclusion Null hypothesis rejected
Dunnetts’ Test show that TAML/ Peroxide did significantly degrade the color of dye in water
TAML affected color degradation
The super active TAML took less time to degrade the food dye than the regular TAML

21. Limitations Limitations: TAML is not designed for food coloring
Did not test the quality of the water only the absorbance
Limited range of TAML and Peroxide concentrations
Limited initial concentrations of food dye
Limited analyze time
Unknown identities of the degradation products

22. Extensions Extensions: Test more colors
Test more concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and TAML
More replicates
Use dyes that more problematic in the environment
Use various types of dyes
Examine toxicity of breakdown products

23. References
“Basics of Green Chemistry.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Mar ,
“Food Coloring.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Dec. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_coloring.
“Hydrogen Peroxide.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide.
Kaye, Leon. “Clothing to Dye for: the Textile Sector Must Confront Water Risks.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 12 Aug. 2013, adidas 

24. References(Continued)
Kundu, Soumen, et al. “TAML Activator/Peroxide-Catalyzed Facile Oxidative Degradation of the Persistent Explosives Trinitrotoluene and Trinitrobenzene in Micellar Solutions.” ACS Publications, 15 Apr. 2013, pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/ /es #/doi/abs/ /es
Laird , Amy P. “Catalysts Developed at CMU Remove Toxic Chemical from Water.” Formative vs Summative Assessment - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University, 9 Aug. 2017,
Shen, Longzhu Q. “Experimental and Theoretical Studies of TAML® Activators : Pharmaceuticals Degradation, Nuclear Tunneling and Electronic Structure Analysis.” Figshare, Figshare, 1 July 2018, figshare.com/articles/Experimental_and_Theoretical_Studies_of_TAML_Activators_Phar maceuticals_Degradation_Nuclear_Tunneling_and_Electronic_Structure_Analysis/
Sweeny, Glynis. “It's the Second Dirtiest Thing in the World - And You're Wearing It.” Alternet, 20 Aug. 2015, youre-wearing-it/.

25. Anova(Red)
Red 0-10
Just TAML 0-10

26. Anova(Blue)
Blue 0-10
Just TAML 0-10