USE OF SEEDS OF Moringa ogifgra AND WOOD OF Phyllanthu5 emblica TO CLARIFY TURBID WATERS AND WASTEWATERS

Abstract

Ability of mature and immature seeds of Moringa o/eifera and wood of Phvllanthus emblicato purify turbid waters and wastewaters was investigated.

Mature seed extracts of Moring(l were comparatively more effective than immature seedextracts in purifying turbid waters. Mature seed powder at 50 mg/20 ml reduced theturbidity (NTU) by 95'lr within 2 hours. It was the aqueous extract or Moringa seeds thatwas effective in clarifying turbid waters. not the insoluble fraction. These observations arecomplementary to results of some previous workers. A positive relationship between proteincontent and purifying ability of seed extract was also observed.

It was also found that extract of mature Moringa seeds have an ability to clarify textile dyesolutions. All four solutions of textile dye namely Terasil Blue 3RL-02, Tcrasil Navy GRLC.Terasil-Red Rand Terasil Yellow 4G were clarified by Moringa seed extracts.

Studies on pH and the conductivity of different types of water samples showed that pH isslightly reduced and conductivity is rapidly increased when the sample were treated withMotinga seeds. In addition. the conductivity was found to fluctuate with time andtemperature of treated samples.

The effectiveness of the mature seeds of Moringa against the bacterial growth of pollutedwaters was also studied. It was found that there is a significant difference between thebacterial growth of treated and untreated samples. It was the quantity of seeds used thatmostly affected the bacterial growth. than the time exposed to the seeds

Antimicrobial activity of crude aqueous extract of Moringa seeds were studied against E.coli and Proteus sp., which are indicative of Iaccally polluted water and disease causalorganisms. Clear inhibition zones were observed for both organisms.

The purifying ability of dried fruit, dried and non-dried branches of P. emblica was alsoinvestigated, The dried branches of P. entblica were found to be more effective in purifyingturbid water whereas the non-dried branches showed little effect. Dried fruit did not showany effect.

The purifying ability of seeds of M. oleifera and various parts of P. emblica plant was alsoinvestigated against paper factory effluent but no significant effect was observed.