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.

Natural Organic Matter Removal in Surface Water Treatment via Coagulation—Current Issues, Potential Solutions, and New Findings

“…Biocoagulants are biomass-derived materials, typically obtained from natural sources such as animals, microorganisms, or plants [25,47].…”

“…The concept of employing naturally occurring and environmentally friendly materials as coagulants for treating water abundant in organic pollutants has drawn the attention of researchers in recent years, partially due to the potential of meeting the assumptions of sustainable concepts such as the circular economy and bioeconomy. Natural coagulants possess several advantages over typically used metallic coagulants, including their renewability, biodegradability, nontoxicity, and relative cost-effectiveness [4,5,25,47].…”

“…Several studies have also focused on investigating the potential of employing plantbased coagulants in water treatment. The available sources of plant-based coagulants are much more widespread than animal-based coagulants [25,47,50].…”

“…For instance, Moringa oleifera, a tree indigenous to tropical and sub-tropical climates, is among the most studied plants in terms of the development and application of natural coagulants derived from seeds [25,47,51]. Although coagulation with Moringa oleifera seed extracts is reported to be effective in removing turbidity, especially for high-turbidity waters, its application for NOM removal is questionable [25,51,52].…”