Effectiveness of plant based Indigenous material as a coagulant for heavy metals and fluoride removal from drinking water

Many remote areas in developing countries are not served with ample portable water. The main source of drinking water for some affected communities is usually groundwater. However, contamination of groundwater by heavy metals and fluoride has received a lot of attention in recent years due to excessive concentration levels of the contaminants above the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended drinldng water quality standards. The aim of the study was to examine the treatment efficacy of low cost, locally available indigenous materials in removing heavy metals and fluoride from groundwater to provide potable quality drinldng water. Application of plant-based materials is enviromnental friendly, cost effective as it is locally available, non-toxic, easy to prepare and the residual generated is easy to dispose. Based on the literature, four plant-based materials namely Moringa oleifera (Moringa seeds), Musa Cavendish (banana peel), Cicer arietinum (chick peas) and Cocos nucifera (coconut solid endosperm) were selected as coagulants to examine their potential on heavy metal and fluoride removal. Coagulation tests with individual coagulants and their combinations were conducted, with different coagulant dosages applied to multi-element synthetic groundwater samples prepared with known concentrations of arsenic, lead, nickel, cadmium and fluoride. The best removal efficiency was achieved by Moringa oleifera combined with Musa cavendish either dosed in a mixing or sequential manner. The study demonstrated that tropical plantbased coagulants had the potential for removing the heavy metals and fluoride from contaminated groundwater.