Performance Evaluation of Moringa Oleifera Seed Powder and Citrus Limon Extract as Natural Coagulants for Turbid Water Treatment

Abstract

This study evaluates the performance of Moringa oleifera seed powder as a natural coagulant for turbid water treatment and investigates the effect of Citrus limon (lemon juice) addition. Jar test experiments identified an optimum Moringa dosage of 150 mg/L, which achieved effective turbidity reduction. Further tests using lemon juice doses of 0.5–3 mL/L in combination with the optimum Moringa dose showed no improvement in coagulation efficiency; instead, turbidity removal performance decreased. The results demonstrate that Moringa oleifera seed powder is an effective, low-cost, biodegradable, and sustainable coagulant, while lemon juice offers no significant advantage under the investigated conditions. The findings support the application of Moringa-based treatment as an environmentally friendly water purification method for rural and low-resource communities.

Introduction

This study focuses on improving turbid water treatment using natural, eco-friendly coagulants instead of chemical agents.

Clean drinking water is often limited in rural and developing regions, and one major issue is turbidity, caused by suspended particles like clay, silt, and microorganisms. High turbidity reduces water quality and increases health risks. Traditional chemical coagulants such as alum are effective but create environmental problems like toxic sludge and high costs, leading to interest in natural alternatives.

The study investigates the use of Moringa oleifera seed powder as a natural coagulant and evaluates the additional effect of Citrus limon (lemon juice). These natural materials work by destabilizing and neutralizing suspended particles, helping them settle out of water.

Experiments were conducted using jar tests on turbid river water collected from the Ganga. Different doses of Moringa seed powder (50–300 mg/L) were tested, followed by combinations with lemon juice. Water quality was measured in terms of turbidity and pH.

Results showed that:

• The raw water had high turbidity (115 NTU).
• The optimal Moringa dose was 150 mg/L, achieving about 90.78% turbidity removal.
• Adding lemon juice reduced turbidity removal efficiency and lowered pH significantly as dosage increased, making the water more acidic and less effective for treatment.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that Moringa oleifera seed powder is an effective natural coagulant for turbid water treatment, with an optimum dosage of 150 mg/L. The addition of Citrus limon extract (0.5–3.0 mL/L) did not enhance coagulation performance; instead, turbidity removal efficiency decreased while pH was reduced. The adverse effect is likely due to pH changes and the presence of colloidal and organic constituents in lemon juice. No synergistic effect was observed between Moringa seed powder and lemon extract. Therefore, Moringa oleifera seed powder alone is recommended as a low-cost, biodegradable, and sustainable coagulant for water treatment, particularly in rural and resource-limited areas. findings highlight

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 A. Hossain, Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Dr. Himmi Gupta. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.