A fishing trip along the Rio Grande led a La Joya, Texas, seventh-grader to investigate whether discarded shellfish shells could help remove pollution from water.
uncertain
shells → lead → water
Nathan Gael Montelongo became interested in the problem after a local fisherman warned him that recent fish catches had been found to contain excessive microplastics.
asserted
catches → become → microplastics
According to Nathan’s profile on the Society for Science, he eventually developed chitosan powder from shellfish shells collected from local restaurants and tested its ability to remove pollutants from water.
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he → accord → water
His project went further, with experiments involving Rio Grande samples, zebrafish embryos and a prototype raft that could monitor water quality and release chitosan when needed.
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that → go → chitosan
The project earned Nathan a place among the 30 finalists of the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
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project → earn → Challenge
A fishing trip sparked the idea
Nathan's project began with an experience that connected a local environmental concern with a material that is often discarded.
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that → spark → material
While fishing in the Rio Grande with his older brother, Nathan was preparing to clean their catch when a local fisherman warned them about microplastic contamination in recently caught fish.
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fisherman → fish → fish
The warning prompted him to look for a way to remove plastic pollution from water.
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warning → prompt → water
He turned his attention to shellfish.
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He → turn → shellfish
Their shells contain chitin, a natural material that can be processed into chitosan.
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that → contain → chitosan
Chitosan is biodegradable and can bind with pollutants, making it useful for investigating whether shellfish waste could be repurposed as part of a water-cleaning system.
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waste → bind → system
Rather than buying shells specifically for the experiment, Nathan collected discarded shellfish shells from local restaurants.
asserted
Nathan → buy → restaurants
This also gave the project a waste-reduction element by repurposing discarded shellfish shells.
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This → give → shells
Restaurant shells became chitosan powder
Nathan first dried and ground the restaurant shellfish shells.
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Nathan → become → shells
He then used the material to produce chitosan powder for his experiments.
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He → use → experiments
His initial test used glitter as a visible stand-in for small particles.
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test → use → particles
When Nathan added the chitosan, it picked up between 55% and 75% of the glitter, according to the Society for Science.
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it → add → Science
The result encouraged him to move on to actual water samples from the Rio Grande.
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result → encourage → Grande
He collected samples containing visible plastic and introduced the chitosan to see how the material would affect the polluted water.
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material → collect → water
As the chitosan coagulated, Nathan observed the water becoming clearer.
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water → coagulate → ?
This provided a visible indication that particles were being pulled together by the material rather than remaining dispersed throughout the water.
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particles → provide → water
Testing the material on Rio Grande water
Nathan did not stop with a visual comparison.
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Nathan → test → comparison
He also used Arduino sensors to measure changes in water quality after treatment.
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He → use → treatment
The sensor-based testing indicated that water quality was improving after the chitosan treatment.
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quality → base → treatment
This gave him another way to examine the performance of the material beyond simply looking at whether the water appeared clearer.
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water → give → material
The project was specifically focused on chitosan's ability to remove microplastics and other pollutants.
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project → focus → microplastics
The results described by the Society for Science come from Nathan's experimental work and do not establish that the process can remove all pollutants from natural waterways or make contaminated water safe to drink.
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water → describe → waterways
Instead, the experiments showed how a material made from discarded shellfish shells could be investigated as a possible tool for removing contaminants from water.
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material → show → water
Zebrafish provided another test
Nathan also examined whether treating polluted water with chitosan could affect biological conditions.
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treating → provide → conditions
He exposed zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) to different water conditions and observed their development for four days.
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He → expose → days
The embryos placed in chitosan-treated water survived more often and showed better development than those exposed to untreated Rio Grande water.
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embryos → place → water
This part of the project allowed Nathan to look beyond the physical appearance and sensor readings of the water.
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Nathan → allow → water
By observing living organisms, he could investigate whether the treated water produced different biological outcomes in his experimental setup.
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water → observe → setup
The zebrafish experiment was conducted on embryos under laboratory conditions, so the findings do not by themselves demonstrate that chitosan treatment would produce the same effects for aquatic organisms throughout the Rio Grande.
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treatment → conduct → Grande
A raft that could respond to water quality
Nathan then took his idea from a material-based experiment towards a potential automated cleanup system.
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Nathan → respond → system
He designed a raft capable of measuring water quality and releasing chitosan in response to the measurements.
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He → design → measurements
The concept was to create a system that could detect changes in water conditions and administer the treatment rather than requiring someone to manually add the material.
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that → create → material
This makes the raft an extension of his original experiment.
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raft → make → experiment
The project began with shellfish waste and the question of whether its chitosan could capture pollutants.
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chitosan → begin → pollutants
It then developed into an automated concept combining water-quality monitoring, pollutant treatment and a floating platform.
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It → develop → monitoring
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
