The Potential of Natural Coagulants for Turbidity Removal

Abstrak

The use of potassium alum as a synthetic coagulant to clarify turbid water in the water treatment plant is widely recognized. However, the dirtier the water, the more volume of alum is needed in the water treatment plants. The large volumes of alum or other chemical substances to treat water may pose a potential risk to human health and high processing cost in water treatment plants. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential of natural coagulants as a substitute for chemical turbidity removal. Natural coagulants such as Tamarind Seed, Lime Seed, and Banana Peel were used to replace chemicals in treating turbid water. The dosage used ranges between 10 mg/L to 40 mg/L for all coagulants. The artificial turbid water in this study was produced using kaolin powder, which was adjusted to 100NTU. Conventional jar test apparatus was used to test the efficiency of the natural coagulants. The test result shows that the natural coagulants successfully reduced the turbidity of the turbid synthetic water. From the findings, the turbidity removal efficiency of tamarind seed, lime seed, and banana peel is 42.5%, 34.2%, and 36.9% respectively. Tamarind seed shows better coagulation and turbidity removal compared to banana peel and lime seed. Adding natural ingredients instead of chemicals in the water treatment process offers a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable alternative. Moreover, the usage of this natural coagulant could help in reducing the chemical waste product to the environment, which is usually produced when using chemicals. Therefore, natural coagulants have the potential to reduce the level of turbidity in water.