Flocculation Studies of Lonchocarpus Laxiflorus Plant(Leaves, Stem Bark and Roots) for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

The fact that water is the most important material used by mankind defines the importance of water purification. Wastewater and industrial effluent treatment require removal of suspended solids for purification and possible re-usage. The removal can be accomplished by gravitation (very slow), by coagulation (dependent on electric charge situation) and by flocculation (not dependent on electric charges and the fastest).  This work evaluates the efficiency of the leaves, stem bark and roots of lonchocarpus laxiflorus in removing turbidity, suspended solids from 1% w/v of kaolin suspension through coagulation-flocculation process. Flocculation capabilities of the plant were studied using UV-Visible spectrophotometer at three different wavelengths (?=400, ?=600 and ?=800). The result generally showed that the flocculation efficiency was a function of both flocculation time allowed and the wavelength of UV-radiation used.

Keywords: Coagulation- Flocculants, Environment,   lonchocarpus laxiflorus , waste water