Influence of the powdered moringa oleifera seed extract on the characteristics of greywater

Abstract

Introduction: Moringa oleifera, commonly known as the drumstick tree, is a fast-growing tree native to the tropic and subtopic regions, especially the Himalayas. Moringa oleifera has been used for generations to treat and prevent diseases including diabetes and heart diseases. The issue of greywater recycling and reuse raise attention in past decades, and it is performing a rapid growth on the global level today (1). For the treatment of greywater, there are many remedial techniques available, but coagulation is considered the best option because of its effective cost, simplicity in design, and ease of operation. Sometimes it seems to be very expensive technology due to the causer of the cost of commercial coagulant used (2). Attempts have been made to use treated water for non-potable use such as gardening, irrigation, toilet flushing, concrete production. Reusing wastewater by natural materials is an effective method for sustaining the use of water as other purposes. Methods: In this study, the greywater has been treated using Moringa oleifera seed extract among all other natural materials. The objective of this research is to evaluate the efficiency of Moringa oleifera to treatment greywater by varying the mixing time, pH, coagulant dose, and mixing speed. The Moringa oleifera seed powdered were collected, dried, ground to the coarse powdered, and extract has been prepared. The treated samples were analyzed for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Turbidity, Total suspended solids (TSS). Results & Discussions: The treatment shows an efficient reduction of performance parameters such as COD (71.2%), BOD (85.3%), Turbidity (98.8%), and TSS (89%). The optimum pH found for this both coagulants to studied wastewater is in the range of 6-8. The optimum dose found to be almost the same for the filtration and without filtration coagulant used for the wastewater. While in the case of filtrate extract, a lower dose of coagulant was required. The optimum dose of coagulant was observed as 400 mg/L and 500 g/L for filtration and without filtration extract, respectively. The COD analysis of treated samples at optimized operational parameters revealed a bit decreasing trend of COD. However, a sign of bit increased levels of COD is also observed in some of the samples using Moringa oleifera as a coagulant. Conclusions: The concentration of examined parameters in the study were reported to be decreased when treated with moringa oleifera. The application of the obtained treated wastewater for the gardening purposes is recommended. Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Greywater, Natural materials, Coagulant