Abstract: There are increasing interests in utilizing natural coagulants in water purification due to the drawbacks associated with the use of chemical coagulant. This study evaluated three different natural seed materials (Moringa oleifera, Papaya, and Pumpkin) and alum for their coagulation efficacy in turbid water. A series of jar test was performed to determine optimal dose of individual coagulant and effect of settling time on the turbidity reduction. Two natural coagulants (moringa and papaya seeds) performed very well showing turbidity reduction up to 92-94 % compared to alum (92 %) when coagulating a canal water that has initial turbidity at 390 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). The performance of pumpkin seed was relatively poor (< 79 % turbidity reduction). The optimal dose of all seed materials was found to be at 1 g L-1 while alum has the optimal dose at 40 mg L-1. Our results suggested that moringa and papaya seeds could be effective natural coagulant for surface water and they would require further filtration step to separate seed material residues as well as nutrients and bacteria associated with them.
Keywords: Alum, coagulant, jar test, seed material, settling, turbidity.
Title: Evaluating Moringa Oleifera, Papaya, and Pumpkin Seed as a Natural Coagulant
Author: Jihoon Kang, José Treviño
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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