Abstract
Half of the world's population does not have access to basic sanitation, leading to socio-economic problems, such as the lack of drinking water and the spread of diseases. In this way, the development of water treatment technologies that are accessible to that target people is of utmost relevance. Currently, in the water treatment of separation process, the compound mostly used as a coagulant in water treatment is the aluminum sulphate, which gives good results for turbidity and color removal of raw water. However, studies show that its deposition in the human body can cause serious damage to health, and the development of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Thus, this project set out to do a parallel study between the aluminum sulphate coagulant and as an alternative, the seed extract of Moringa oleífera (MO). The efficiency of both coagulants were evaluated through measurement of turbidity and color of water samples. MO proved to be more efficient, with removals of 94.9% of turbidity and 92.5% of color, when using a dosage of 20 mg L-1.
The water obtained results close to drinking water required by Brazilian regulation, indicating that MO seed could be an alternative for water treatment providing water for small communities.
