WATER MELON SEEDS AS A POTENTIAL COAGULANT IN WASTEWATER PURIFICATION

Now-a-days due to the increase of population, the demand of water has increased considerably resulting in the generation of scarcity of lake water. This research project investigates the potential of watermelon seed as a natural coagulant for water treatment. This is aimed at identifying watermelon seed as a possible replacement for alum and other synthetic polyelectrolytes in treating water. It was aimed at identifying watermelon seed as a possible replacement for alum and other synthetic polyelectrolytes in treating water. Results obtained showed that at dosage of 0.05g/L, pH of 7.0, the optimum time duration is 24 hours and the optimum removal of turbidity is obtained. The reduction in turbidity was below the world health organizations (WHO) recommended value of 5NTU, however the best colour removal was not up to the WHO recommendation value of 40NTU. The residue of the crushed watermelon seed is used as the coagulant which can be obtained using soxhlet extraction apparatus with n-hexane as the solvent. Several test were conducted to investigate the concentrations present in the water sample before and after the addition of coagulant into the water sample. Laboratory scale studies using jar test experiments were performed on medium turbid water to determine the effect of dosage, pH stirring time and speed on coagulation. This paper reports the potential of watermelon seed as a natural coagulant for water treatment. The results obtained show watermelon seed can be used as a natural coagulant for water treatment.

Keywords: Water treatment, Water melon, Ecofriendly, Natural method