Comparative Effect of Aluminum Sulfate (alum) and Moringa Oleifera Seeds in the Treatment of Raw Water from Chanchaga Water Works, Minna

ABSTRACT Access to clean potable water is becoming increasingly difficult, with about 26% of the world population at risk. The study aims to compare the efficiency of aluminum sulfate and seed extracts of M. oleifera in raw water treatment. This was achieved by using standard methods to treat raw water at different dosages of coagulants (100-600 mg/l) prepared from aluminum sulfate and M. oleifera seeds and comparing the performances of these coagulants. Parameters checked are: turbidity, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, temperature, total coliform tests, and E. coli. Results showed that alum performed best in terms of turbidity removal with 1.84±0.59 NTU at optimum dosage of 100mg/l, while moringa seed reduced turbidity to 4.22±0.93 at optimum dosage of 300mg/l. It was noted that at optimum dosage of alum, the water pH was reduced from 6.7 to 6.2 as against the WHO permissible limits (6.5 – 8.5), conductivity reduced from 57.8μS/cm to 27.8μS/cm, TDS showed steady increase as the dosage of alum increased. On the contrary, at the optimum dosage of M. oleifera seeds, the pH was raised to 7.3, which is within the permissible limits, conductivity was 26.67μS/cm, and the TDS was 24mg/l. Both coagulants showed no noticeable impact on water temperature. M. oleifera seeds was the least effective in reducing bacterial counts. It was concluded that Moringa oleifera seeds could replace alum successfully and avoid the disadvantages associated with the use of chemical coagulants.