Use of Water Extract of Moringa Oleifera Seeds (WEMOS) in Raw Water Treatment in Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract

Availability of clean water is a serious problem, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where conventional treatment methods are inappropriate due to high cost and low availability of chemical coagulants like alum. The paper presents the use of moringa seeds extract as alternative to alum in raw water treatment. Preliminary engineering properties such as jar test, speeds of flocculation; 98, 196 and 260rpm; detention and setting times were conducted to determine the integrity of moringa extract as a natural coagulant. The results shows that at the speed of 98rpm and settling time of 1 hour, 85 – 89% removal of solids was achieved, while 41 – 59%, 63 – 80% removal of solids were possible at 260rpm and 196rpm respectively. Similarly, after 2 hours of settling time, 93 – 96%, 64 – 75%, 65 – 80% removal of solids were obtained at 98rpm, 260rpm and 196rpm respectively. The treatment suggests optimum performance at low and medium speeds better than maximum speed of flocculation. It is suggested that further investigation be carried out on particle sizes of moringa oleifera seeds powder.

Keywords: Moringa-oleifera, seeds, extract, raw water, treatment.