Comparative study between M. oleifera and aluminum sulfate for water treatment: case study Colombia

© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. The world has a water deficit, mostly located in developing countries. For example, in Colombia, water deficit is a major concern and it increases in rural areas, where the rate of accessibility to drinking water is of 33.26 % in 2005. Since the 1970s, the most used technology for water purification is the conventional physicochemical process. The most common coagulant used in this process is aluminum sulfate (alum). This study focuses on a comparison between Moringa oleifera seeds and alum for water treatment in different natural waters. Results showed that M. oleifera removed 90 % turbidity and alum 96 % from water samples from the tested natural brook. However, color removal for M. oleifera was 95 and 80.3 % for alum. For water-polluted samples, both coagulants have shown high efficiency (100 %) in color and turbidity removal. Usage of natural coagulants (i.e., M. oleifera) instead of chemical ones (i.e., alum) are more convenient in rural areas where the economic situation and accessibility of those products are key elements to maintain fresh water treatment standards. Additionally, results demonstrated that high dosages M. oleifera did not affect the optimal value in terms of color and turbidity removal. In rural and developing countries, this is important because it does not require a sophisticated dosing equipment.