Effectiveness of Moringa Oleifera Seed as a Biocoagulant for Water

Pretreatment, Ilo Province, Moquegua-Peru

Rivera-Campano Milko

, Morales-Aranibar Carlos

and Morales-Aranibar Luis

Director of the Professional School of Environmental Engineering of the National University of Moquegua Environmental

Engineer of the National University of Moquegua, Peru

Metallurgical Engineer from the Jorge Basadre Grohmann National University, Peru

Director of the Office of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property of the National Intercultural

University of Quillabamba, Peru

Keywords: Moringa Oleifera, Biocoagulant, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids.

Abstract: The objective of this study is to use Moringa oleifera seed as a biocoagulant to treat turbid water samples

during the flood season in the Osmore river in Ilo-Moquegua. The methodology was based on a completely

randomized factorial design, using as a response variable the percentage of turbidity removal, the composition

of the Moringa oleifera seed was evaluated, the defatting process was carried out, obtaining the flour for the

preparation of biocoagulant, the physicochemical parameters were evaluated: temperature, pH and total solids,

in addition to the time of action. As a result, the optimum dose was 1.35 ml in flood season (high turbidity)

with a sedimentation time of 30 min, thus obtaining a fairly efficient removal in high turbidity, reaching

positive values above 95%. Total dissolved solids (TDS) showed a decrease of 45.38% of water in high

turbidity. The pH (7.71) and temperature (26.5 °C) did not change, as they were within the standards allowed

by national norms. Data that will help the inhabitants and authorities to access and replicate in an easy way

and thus treat water with a friendly and sustainable culture with the environment.

1 INTRODUCTION

Currently, water purification processes use different

types of reagents such as coagulants, many of these

are of artificial origin (Ramirez 2019), some of these

reagents for their manufacture can emit many sources

of pollution, so it is necessary to study green

production biocoagulants (Sandoval and Laines,

2013).

Peru is one of the many countries facing water

supply and contamination problems especially in

rural or recently inhabited areas as is the case of the

Lurin River (Villanueva, 2016) and the human

settlement of Santa Rosa in the Algarrobal district of

the province of Ilo. For this reason, Peru is no stranger

to this problem, as it has many of its regions,

provinces, districts and

its regions, provinces, districts, continue to pre-

treat water in the different rural areas.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4313-037X

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4184-2365

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9421-9833

Currently, the fight against global warming and

the SDGs is being carried out worldwide to clarify the

water in a natural way for this, it is necessary to apply

natural polyelectrolytes that act as flocculation aids,

allowing to eliminate a significant percentage of

turbidity, suspended solids, dissolved organic,

dissolved ionic (salts) and microorganisms that can

not affect the health of consumers (Delgadillo et al,

2010; Arango and Ortega, 2017).

Microorganisms, heavy metals, turbidity or others

can be present in rivers due to natural or

anthropogenic activities (Tumbaco and Acebo, 2018;

Melo and Turriago, 2012), thus generating that in

water treatment plants use inorganic coagulants for

their treatment (Sáenz, 2015; Chama, 2017), but in

the case of the surrounding areas in rural areas there

are few that have a water treatment plant (Broncano

and Rosario, 2017), thus risking even a possible

Milko, R., Carlos, M. and Luis, M.

Effectiveness of Moringa Oleifera Seed as a Biocoagulant for Water Pretreatment, Ilo Province, Moquegua-Peru.

DOI: 10.5220/0011352500003350

In Proceedings of the 5th International Scientiﬁc Congress Society of Ambient Intelligence (ISC SAI 2022) - Sustainable Development and Global Climate Change, pages 273-279

ISBN: 978-989-758-600-2

273

public health problem and in the environment of the

environment. (Coronado, 2018; Vela, 2016).

The province of Ilo has a valley that is considered

an agricultural zone, farmers irrigate their crop areas

by using the waters of the Osmore River that flows

through the valley and finally flows into the sea, the

people living in the area use the water to prepare their

food and beverages without having gone through a

previous pretreatment. One of the main problems of

the Osmore River water is the presence of mud or

particles (turbidity) and even more so when there is a

flood season with heavy rains in summer and autumn

in the highlands (Sánchez, 2019). The water arrives

very turbid to the Ilo valley with a high percentage of

mud, pathogenic microorganisms, making it

impossible to consume it (Sanchez, 2019).

This research work seeks to provide a proposed

solution for water treatment, using a non-

conventional technology for water pretreatment,

using the Moringa oleifera seed as a biocoagulant that

has protein properties that help improve water quality

(Ezhilarasi and Veerasekar, 2014), thus contributing

to the inhabitants of the Ilo valley. That is why the

present research work aims to use Moringa oleifera

seed as a biocoagulant to treat turbid water samples

in the Osmore river in Ilo-Moquegua-Peru.

2 METHODOLOGIES

The design used was a completely randomized

experimental design (single factor).

Having 4 doses of biocoagulant (1.0 mL, 1.2 mL,

1.3 mL and 1.4 mL) and 1 control for a sedimentation

time of 60 min, and 4 doses of biocoagulant (1.2 mL,

1.3 mL, 1.35 mL and 1.4 mL) and 1 control for a

sedimentation time of 30 min, making 5 replicates for

greater accuracy in the periods of floods.

2.1 Moringa Oleifera Seed Processing

The Moringa oleifera seeds are of natural origin from

the province of Ilo, these were taken to the basic

chemistry laboratory of the National University of

Moquegua - Ilo Branch.

Ten units of Moringa seeds with husk, seed

without husk and husk were weighed, the difference

in weight was evaluated in percentage to know the

raw material for the elaboration of the biocoagulant.

Subsequently, it was then dried at room temperature

for 1 day (24 hours) for easy use (Sandoval & Laines,

2013). The crushing phase consisted of pulverizing

the peeled seeds in a domestic blender (Carrasquero,

et al., 2018), with the intention of obtaining moringa

powder.

2.2 Analysis of the Properties of

Moringa Oleifera

For the determination of the proximate composition

of the seeds of Moringa oleifera not segregated, sent

30 gr. of sample to the specialized laboratory of the

Universidad Nacional De San Agustín de Arequipa,

performing an analysis of moisture (NTP 209.085),

fat (NTP 209.093). Protein (AOAC 2057), fiber (NTP

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2.3 Extraction of Oil and Fats from

Seeds of Moringa Oleifera

The solid-liquid extraction or leaching methodology

was applied with a solvent called 95% Ethanol

(Guamán, & Sánchez, 2018), for this purpose, 80 g of

moringa powder were weighed and diluted in a

volume of 300 ml of chemically pure 95% ethanol

and then homogenized with the help of a magnetic

stirrer for a time of 40 min and left to stand for 1 day

(24 hours).

2.4 Filtering and Residual Drying of

Moringa Oleifera Seeds

After the waiting course of 1 day (24 hours), the

filtering process was carried out with a filter paper of

11 μm, thus obtaining the residual cake of the defatted

seed with which the research was worked. The solid

part (residual cake) Figure 1, was left to dry at room

temperature for 1 day, until the ethanol solvent

finished volatizing and the Moringa oilseed was

defatted.

2.5 Extraction of the Component in

Saline Solution

With the intention of making the coagulant more

soluble in turbid water. 500 ml of distilled water were

prepared and 29.22 g of NaCl were weighed and then

homogenized in a magnetic stirrer for a time of 15

min. (Adbul, 2016; Tumbaco & Acebo, 2018).

ISC SAI 2022 - V International Scientiﬁc Congress SOCIETY OF AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE

274

Figure 1: Moringa oleifera residual cake.

2.6 Obtaining the Biocoagulant based

on the Seed of Moringa Oleifera

For the preparation of the biocoagulant as shown in

Figure 2, 15 g of defatted Moringa oleifera was added

to 500 ml of the saline solution. Then, with the help

of the magnetic stirrer, it was mixed for a time of 30

minutes. Finally, the solution was filtered with a filter

paper where the biocoagulant was obtained and

reserved in a dark glass bottle.

2.7 Concentration of the Biocoagulant

of the Seed Moringa Oleifera

Calculations of concentration (w/w) were made, for

the time of flooding, doses of 1.2 ml, 1.3 ml, 1.35 ml,

1.4 ml and its control were made with a sedimentation

time of 30 min, and doses of 0.8 ml, 1.0 ml, 1.2 ml,

1.4 ml and its control with a time of 60 min, having

as fixed speed of 100 rpm. Then, with the range

obtained, a new calculation was made to work with

more precise data on the concentrations of the doses.

2.8 Evaluation of Physicochemical

Parameters in Treated Water

The pH, temperature, and total dissolved solids were

evaluated to assess the effect of the biocoagulant on

turbidity, using a HACH 2100 AN turbidity meter

from the basic chemistry laboratory of the National

University of Moquegua. The evaluation of the before

and after treatments was carried out with their

respective control, marking the difference in the data

obtained in percentage of turbidity elimination in the

flood and dryness times.

Figure 2: Preparation of Moringa-based biocoagulation.

2.9 Data Analysis

In order to evaluate if significant differences are

found between treatments, an analysis of variance

will be performed.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Determination of Moringa Oleifera

Seed Weight

The results obtained regarding the weight of the seed

with shell, seed without shell and shell, it was

determined that the weight of the shell is not very

significant for the processing of moringa, however, I

show that the seed without shell has had a high

percentage in weight of 74.4%", which means that it

represents a greater or sufficient amount of raw

material for the elaboration of the biocoagulant.

3.2 Proximal Composition of Moringa

Oleifera Seed

The proximal composition of Moringa Oleifera seed

powder without degreaser, obtained results that show

a high protein content 38.46% which is important for

coagulation, proteins are biopolymers that help the

water to have a good flocculation and settle quickly,

so the proteins are the main importance for water

treatment, in the same way the analysis gives us the

data of fat with a percentage of 35.37% that is in the

seed important data for extraction in the preparation

of the biocoagulant.

Effectiveness of Moringa Oleifera Seed as a Biocoagulant for Water Pretreatment, Ilo Province, Moquegua-Peru

275

3.3 Concentration of The Biocoagulant

of Moringa Oleifera Seeds

It was prepared taking into account a volume of 100

ml, a solute mass of 3 g, a solution mass of 99.7 g and

a final concentration (%m/m) of 3%.

3.4 Results of Water Treatment at The

Time of The Osmore River

Flooding

The ideal dose according to the experimental design

had a range of 0.8 ml - 1.4 ml for a time of 60 min.

The results show that the 1.2 ml dose presents a better

turbidity removal, having an average of 85.46 NTU

as for the other doses (Table 1).

Table 1: Coagulation percentages in time of flooding in 60

min.

Repli

Initi

Dose

Contr

0.8

(NT

1.0

(NT

1.2

(NT

1.4

(NT

R1 863 443 124 116 102 126

R2 739 435 81.8 146 79.6 88.8

R3 739 440 87.5 94.6 84.4 91.3

R4 851 488 86.2 84.4 83.7 92.8

R5 672 376 88.5 126 76.6 96.1

Average 436.4 93.6 113.

85.4

The result of the statistical value of the "F" test is

obtained from the division of the mean squares of the

treatment and the error (Table 2) with this result we

show that there is sufficient statistical evidence to say

that the treatments are different and that it effectively

demonstrates that the biocoagulant eliminates or

reduces the percentage of turbidity in the water in a

sedimentation time of 60 min.

With the results it was intended to improve the

time to evaluate the difference that can present and

how effective the biocoagulant can be, for that the

range of 1.2 ml - 1.4 ml was considered performing

the same procedure of 5 replicates with a shorter time

of 30 min of sedimentation and the agitation speed of

100 rpm in a time of 1 min.

Table 2. ANOVA analysis of variance of coagulation in

time of flooding in time of 60 min.

Source

variatio

Sum of

Square

Degre

es of

freedo

Square

Middle

Treatme

460497.27

115124.

204.00

Error 11286.392 20

564.319

Total

471783.67

Table 3: Coagulation percentages in time of flooding in 30

min.

Repli

Initi

Dose

Contr

1.2

(NT

1.3

(NT

1.35

(NT

1.4

(NT

R1 243

1438 182 144 146 123

R2 454

2861 128 128 116 130

R3 454

3006 132 121 114 203

R4 486

3025 121 118 102 120

R5 486

3084 116 153 107 178

Average 2682.

135.

132.

117 150.

Table 3 shows that the 1.35 ml dose shows better

turbidity elimination and less time compared to the

other tests carried out; at the same time, it does not

show much difference in relation to the previous

analysis with a time of 60 min, demonstrating that the

biocoagulant helps to improve water clarification. To

demonstrate its effect, ANOVA was carried out,

concluding that there is sufficient statistical evidence

to say that the treatments are different and that it was

indeed demonstrated that the biocoagulant eliminates

or reduces the percentage of turbidity in the water in

a sedimentation time of 30 min. (Table 4)

Having the results of the sedimentation times (30

and 60 min), as well as the average turbidity removal

in the water, the final result was taken as the 1.35 ml

dose since it presents less time and the difference in

turbidity is less, since for the studies and the use of

coagulant in a water pretreatment, the minimum

removal is required and in less time.

ISC SAI 2022 - V International Scientiﬁc Congress SOCIETY OF AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE

276

Table 4: Analysis of variance ANOVA of coagulation in

time of flooding in time of 30 min.

Source

variation

Sum of

Square

Degrees

freedom

Square

Middle

Treatment

25986366.16

6496591.54

65.81049

Error

1974333.2

98716.66

Total

27960699.3

3.5 Analysis of Temperature, pH and

Total Dissolved Solids

A pH and temperature analysis were performed

before and after pretreatment of the Osmore River

water sample in 100 ml beakers with a volume of

water to be treated of 80 ml in order to evaluate

whether the biocoagulant generates an alteration in

the physicochemical parameters, which had the

following results observed in Table 5, showing that it

does not vary significantly in the final pH.

The final pH and temperature is below the initial

one, which, in turn, does not alter the application of

the biocoagulant that seeks to improve water

clarification. The 1.35 mL dose (pH 7.9 and 27 °C),

it was observed that in samples 1 to 5 of water in the

flood season, it was presented with an average of 26.7

°C in comparison with the untreated sample that

presents 26.5 °C, meaning that there was no alteration

or modification as well as the pH parameter that had

an average of 7.71, and is within the range

standardized by national norms.

Table 5: Influence of the optimal dose (1.35 ml) on pH and

temperature parameters

Sampl

Dos

Ini

tial

Initi

tem

pera

ture

Types

sedim

entati

nal

Final

tempe

rature

M 1 1.35

7.9 27

7.7

26.7

M 2 1.35

7.9 27

min.

7.7

26.7

M 3 1.35

7.9 27 7.6

26.6

M 4 1.35

7.9 27 7.7

26.9

M 5 1.35

7.9 27 7.7

26.9

M 6 0 ml 7.9 27 7.7

26.5

3.6 Results of Total Dissolved Solids

After three repetitions, it can be observed that in

Figure 3, sample 6, which is not treated, shows a high

load of total dissolved solids in the three tests, unlike

samples 1 to 5, which shows the influence of the dose

of 1.35 ml in the treated vessels, which means that it

shows a reduction of total dissolved solids in the

treated water in times of flooding, and that total

dissolved solids are also a problem for the

pretreatment of water and for health.

Figure 3: Influence of biocoagulant on total dissolved solids

over time of flooding.

4 DISCUSSIONS

This research work studied the adequate

concentration for the flood season in which a very

high turbidity was demonstrated during the tests

performed, which showed a great capacity to

eliminate turbidity by treatment with moringa when

there is presence of high turbidity load demonstrating

Effectiveness of Moringa Oleifera Seed as a Biocoagulant for Water Pretreatment, Ilo Province, Moquegua-Peru

277

a great difference in the adequate concentration for

the dry season, which is efficient the higher the

turbidity the greater the effect of the biocoagulant

seed Moringa oleifera, this allows its use to be

recommended when there is higher turbidity in the

Osmore River. (Sanchez, 2019).

In the testing process, the optimal time in terms of

sedimentation of the treated water is much shorter the

time when there is presence of high turbidity than in

low turbidity, which makes the effectiveness of the

biocoagulant act instantaneously to the elimination of

turbidity, and can be used when it occurs in times of

flood (Tumbaco and Acebo, 2018).

The application and direct use of the Moringa

oleifera seed biocoagulant, does not produce

alteration or change its initial values nor does it

represent an additional cost to correct the pH and

temperature of the treated water compared to

chemical polymers that, if it tends to alter, on the

other hand, reduces a percentage in terms of total

dissolved solids (TDS) compared to other chemical

polymers such as aluminum sulfate used

commercially. for pretreatment in water, which

generates alkalinity in the treated water so it is

necessary to add alkalis such as lime, which is

advisable to use as a natural coagulant Moringa

oleifera seed before the ability to remove turbidity

(Vela, 2016).

However, it would be ideal to perform some more

analyses such as coliform bacteria, and some

chemical tests such as nitrates and nitrites, Total

Organic Carbon (TOC), to obtain data that would help

provide a good assessment of water quality, and

determine if there is a decrease or elimination of these

parameters by applying the Moringa oleifera seed

biocoagulant.

5 CONCLUSIONS

It was determined that the concentration of the

biocoagulant for the removal of high turbidity is an

optimal dose of 1.35 ml in a sedimentation time of 30

min, the effectiveness of the biocoagulant from the

Moringa oleifera seed acts much better when there is

a greater amount of turbidity, that is, in times of

flooding. It was demonstrated that the preparation and

application of the biocoagulant based on Moringa

oleifera seeds has a turbidity removal in flood season

(high turbidity) of 95.97 %. In other parameters, it has

not generated any alteration in the pH since it

remained relatively stable with an average of 7.71

during the flood season; likewise, its temperature did

not change since its average was 26.5 °C in high

turbidity water, data that are standardized and

allowed for pretreatment. As for total dissolved solids

(TDS), the application of the optimum doses showed

a decrease of 45.38% during the flood season.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to the Professional School of Environmental

Engineering of the National University of Moquegua

Ilo Branch and the Directorate of Innovation,

Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property and

Biology Laboratory of the National Intercultural

University of Quillabamba.

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