Treatment of contaminated water collected from River Getsi using enhanced natural coagulant prepared from Chrysophyllum albidium seeds

The high cost of chemical coagulants for water treatment makes most people in rural community to resort to readily available surface water which are usually of low quality exposing them to different water – borne diseases. It is in this light, this research was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a cheap enhanced natural coagulant prepared from Chrysophyllum albidium seeds for the treatment of contaminated water sampled from River Getsi which serves as potable water for the society. The coagulant synthesized (both unmodified and modified Chrysophyllum albidium seed coagulant) were first characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), proximate, phytochemical screening , Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), and Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry techniques.The efficiency of the characterized coagulants were thereafter accessed using the conventional Jar test apparatus where the effects of the coagulants dosage (0.1-0.6 g/L), temperature (303 – 333 K), mixing speed (20 – 240 rpm) and pH (2 – 12) on the reduction of some of the contaminant in the River water were examined The results from the FTIR analysis revealed the coagulants contain functional groups like the O–H stretch of alcohols and phenols, N-H stretching of amino compounds and the carboxyl, C=O group which have been reported in literature to be the preferred groups for coagulation – flocculation processes. The XRD image patterns obtained indicated that the prepared coagulants do not have any impurities and are in pristine forms which might be responsible for the adsorption of pollutants onto the coagulant surface. The obtained SEM images indicated that the coagulants had porous, round and rough granular structures that can favour adsorption and bridging of colloidal particles thereby promoting the sedimentation of particles during water purification. Result from the jar test experiment indicated that both the unmodified (UCASC) and modified (MCASC) coagulants reduced the amount of dissolved and suspended solids in the river water, as well as reduced the amount of chemical and biochemical oxygen needed. The performance of the coagulants in the removals of heavy metal from the river water followed the other As > Fe > Cr > Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb. Maximum removal of 97. 86 % of total suspended solids (TSS), 94.68 % of total dissolved solids (TDS), and 97.04 % of turbidity was achieved by MCASC at optimum conditions (pH of 8, dosage of 0.4 g/L, solution temperature of 303 K, mixing speed of 210 rpm and settling time of 30 minutes). The better performance of MCASC when compared to UCASC (TSS = 97.82 %, TDS 93.80 % and Turbidity = 90.55 % ) is a sign that the microwave treatment of the former during its modification improved the powder’s ability to adsorb substances and collect contaminants. The study demonstrates that Chrysophyllum albidium seed, which are the waste of these fruits, could be helpful for the synthesis of cheap coagulants that can be used for water purification