Use of Papaya Seed as a Natural Coagulant for Water Purification

Arya Chandran J, Duithy George

Abstract: In this study, a natural indigenous coagulant like papaya seed was suggested as a substitute for alum. It is readily available and commonly recognizable in most urban and rural communities. The powdered material is obtained from the seed of papaya was used to test coagulant rate and dose. This study mainly focused on the removal of turbidity, total dissolved solids and effect of coagulation on pH of sample etc. Turbidity and other physico-chemical characteristics of surface water sample were measured before and after the Jar test by using portable instruments. The experiments were carried out with coagulant dosage of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 g/L in raw water sample. 89.14% turbidity removal efficiency was obtained from this study and total dissolved solids removal efficiency of papaya seed obtained from this study was 90.29% at a dosage of 0.6g/L. Papaya seed exhibited high efficiency in removing Total Suspended Solids, Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Dissolved Oxygen etc.

Keywords: Coagulant, Papaya seed, Turbidity, Total dissolved solids