Bioremediation of Turbid Surface Water Using Seed Extract from the Moringa oleifera Lam. (Drumstick) Tree

Abstract

An indigenous water treatment method uses Moringa oleifera seeds in the form of a crude water-soluble extract in suspension, resulting in an effective natural clarification agent for highly turbid and untreated pathogenic surface water. Efficient reduction (80.0% to 99.5%) of high turbidity produces an aesthetically clear supernatant, concurrently accompanied by 90.00% to 99.99% (1 to 4 log) bacterial reduction. Application of this low-cost Moringa oleifera protocol is recommended for water treatment where rural and peri-urban people living in extreme poverty are presently drinking highly turbid and microbiologically contaminated water.

Keywords: Moringa oleifera; coagulation; developing countries; flocculation; household water treatment.