Textile-effluent treatment using Aloe vera mucilage as a natural coagulant prior to a photo-Fenton reaction

Abstract

In this study, the mucilage of Aloe vera was used as a new auxiliary coagulant in pre-treatment using a combined system based on the photo-Fenton (PF) process for the treatment of textile effluents. Coagulation–flocculation (CF) using a combination of coagulants showed better performance in the elimination of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and natural organic matter (NOM) when compared with a single inorganic coagulant. In addition, the combination of coagulants allowed a 28% reduction in the concentration of the inorganic coagulant used. To remove the dissolved and recalcitrant matter after CF, the pretreated effluent was subjected to a PF process that is efficient in the degradation and mineralization of dissolved organic compounds; this resulted in the elimination of 82.48% of COD, 80.34% of DOC, and 79.65% of NOM, as well as the formation of inorganic ions. The toxicity of the samples was evaluated base on three organisms of different trophic levels: Lactuca sativa, Artemia salina, and Eisenia fetida. The results showed that the samples treated by CF or CF/PF were non-toxic to A. salina and E. fetida. However, in the L. sativa bioassay, the root-growth parameter revealed toxicity in the effluents before and after treatment, excluding the untreated effluents with doses of 100 and 200 mL L-1 and the effluent with a dose of 100 mL L-1 treated by the CF process.