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Hi, I’m Jonathan. I’m in Y12 (junior year) at Eton College in the UK. I’m passionate about applying scientific principles to emerging fields like neuroscience, psychology and environmental engineering – all of which I hope to study at university in the UK or US. Outside of lessons, I’m an avid debater, keen pianist and organist, and proud tennis and table tennis fan.
Tell us what the water concern in your country is!The UK is traditionally quite safe and adequate in water supply, but we identified the growing concern of PFAS - increasingly correlated with diseases and illnesses, that's above the recommended limit of 4 ng/l all around the Thames Basin.
PFASolve: An integrated framework for the detection and filtration of perfluoroalkyl substances from surface water in the Thames Basin
PFAS pollution is a growing concern worldwide, with no equitable solution in the Thames Basin. We developed a geospatial neural network, predicting PFAS values to within 10% of experimentally validated values. With those predictions, we designed and tested a point-of-use filtration device to be installed on taps. Observing a 93% reduction in PFAS concentration, we reduce PFAS to below health limits of 4 ng/l. Further, we optimised the design, where a 10mm depth of activated carbon allows for 2.5 months of usage, with minimal impact on flow rate and introducing no impurities. Not only do we reduce the devastating impacts of PFAS pollution, but we present a potential solution that is accessible for all.
