Moringa oleifera Plant as potent alternate to Chemical Coagulant in Water Purification

Abstract Quality of groundwater is threatened due to pollution by industrial, domestic and agricultural waste. A large number of populations are residing in rural areas which are unable to afford high cost water purifiers due to their low income as well as limited awareness. However, limited availability of fresh water has become a critical issue in developing countries. Around 1.2 billion population is deprived of affordable and safe water for their domestic need. Additionally, chemical coagulants which are nowadays being used for water purification pose severe and numerous health hazards to human. Thus utilization of easily accessible natural coagulant for water purification might offer a sustainable, practical and cost effective solution to the current alarming situation in developing countries. Several experimental findings have shown strong efficiency of Moringa oleifera plant extracts obtained from different solvents in the improvement of water quality parameters including physicochemical (such as pH, hardness, turbidity, metallic impurities, total dissolved solid) and biological (E.coli count) parameter. We have also highlighted the limitations and advantages of chemical coagulation in water purification. Altogether, this review summarizes one such miracle tree which has shown significant potential as a natural coagulant and its associated underlying mechanism in water purification process.

Otimização do tratamento de água cinza a partir do uso combinado de coagulantes químicos / Treatment optimization of greywater from the combined use of chemical coagulants

RESUMO Com a crescente demanda e escassez de água são necessários esforços para viabilizar fontes alternativas de abastecimento. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo otimizar o tratamento da água cinza, associando os coagulantes químicos sulfato de alumínio e cloreto férrico para possibilitar o reúso da água tratada. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi dividida em três etapas: caracterização da água cinza proveniente de lavatório e chuveiro de uma residência unifamiliar; avaliação do uso combinado de sulfato de alumínio e cloreto férrico, preparados em solução de 5%, para o tratamento da água cinza, otimizando as concentrações dos coagulantes químicos aplicando o Delineamento Composto Central Rotacional e avaliando os dados via Metodologia de Superfície de Resposta e Desejabilidade Global; e avaliação da eficiência do tratamento proposto, confrontando as dosagens ótimas determinadas com os testes em laboratório. Os resultados indicaram que a associação do sulfato de alumínio (concentração de 0,470 g.L-1) e do cloreto férrico (concentração de 0,115 g.L-1) potencializou o tratamento, atingindo uma remoção de turbidez da água cinza de até 94%. Além desses resultados, houve redução de coliformes termotolerantes e do cloro residual, possibilitando o reúso na descarga das bacias sanitárias e em processos de irrigação.

ABSTRACT With the growing demand and shortage of water, efforts are needed to enable alternative sources of supply. Thus, this work was focused on optimizing the treatment of greywater by associating the chemical coagulants aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, to enable their reuse. Therefore, the research was divided into three stages: characterization greywater from basin and shower of a single-family residence; assessing the combined use of aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, prepared in 5% solution for the treatment of greywater, optimizing the concentrations of chemical coagulants applying Central Composed of Rotational Design and evaluating the data via Methodology Surface Response and Global Desirability; and evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed treatment, comparing the optimum dosages determined with laboratory tests. The results indicated that the combination of aluminum sulfate (concentration 0.470 g.L-1) and ferric chloride (concentration 0.115 g.L-1) potentiated treatment, achieving a removal of greywater turbidity of up to 94%; also, thermotolerant coliforms and residual chlorine were reduced, making it possible to reuse them in the discharge of toilets and in irrigation.