Practical Efficiency Comparison of Different Natural Coagulants for Water Turbidity Removal

Abstract

The expense of water purification is increasing due to the colloidal and suspended molecular load brought on by land scraping and excessive overflow during the rainy season. There are numerous issues with employing manufactured coagulants, and the need for a cost-effective, health safeguard, and natural coagulant is rising. This paper examines the impacts of natural coagulants like; watermelon seeds, okra seeds, cactus, and aloe-vera on reducing water turbidity. The best-performing coagulant among the four coagulants was determined using the coagulation jar test, which also served to calculate the optimal coagulant concentration required to remove 100 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) of turbidity. The findings of this investigation suggest that aloe-vera can be utilized as a reliable coagulant for turbid water. Subsequent experiments were conducted using the established coagulant to evaluate various variables including coagulant dose, pH, water turbidity, rapid and slow mixing periods, and settling period. By employing aloe-vera, a more significant percentage of turbidity removal may be accomplished when the pH was 6.5, the beginning water turbidity was 500 NTU, the rapid mixing period was equal to 1 minute, the slow mixing period was preferred at 20 minutes, and the settling duration was 25 minutes.