Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805

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Physics and Chemistry of the Earth

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pce

A comparison between Moringa oleifera and chemical coagulants

in the purification of drinking water – An alternative sustainable
solution for developing countries
M. Pritchard a,*, T. Craven a, T. Mkandawire b, A.S. Edmondson a, J.G. O’Neill c
a
Leeds Metropolitan University, School of the Built Environment, Leeds, LS2 8AJ, United Kingdom
b
University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Department of Civil Engineering, Private Bag 303, Chichiri, Blantyre 3, Malawi
c
Centre for Research in Environment and Health, 6 Abbotsway, York, YO31 9LD, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A research project was commissioned to investigate the performance of Moringa oleifera compared with
Received 2 February 2010 that of aluminium sulphate (Al2(SO4)3) and ferric sulphate (Fe2(SO4)3), termed alum and ferric respec-
Received in revised form 21 June 2010 tively. A series of jar tests was undertaken using model water, different raw water sources and hybrid
Accepted 17 July 2010
water containing a mixture of both of these types of water. The model water consisted of deionised water
Available online 23 July 2010
spiked with Escherichia coli (E. coli) at 104 per 100 ml and turbidity (146 NTU) artificially created by kao-
lin. Results showed that M. oleifera removed 84% turbidity and 88% E. coli, whereas alum removed greater
Keywords:
than 99% turbidity and E. coli. Low turbidity river water (<5 NTU), with an E. coli count of 605 colony
Alum
Coagulants
forming units (cfu)/100 ml was treated with M. oleifera and ferric. Results showed an 82% and 94% reduc-
Ferric tion in E. coli for M. oleifera and ferric respectively. Tests on turbid river water of 45 NTU, with an E. coli
Moringa oleifera count of 2650 cfu/100 ml, showed a removal of turbidity of 76% and E. coli reduction of 93% with M. oleif-
Water treatment era. The equivalent reductions for alum were 91% and 98% respectively. Highly coloured reservoir water
was also spiked with E. coli (104 cfu/100 ml) and turbidity (160 NTU) artificially created by kaolin; termed
hybrid water. Under these conditions M. oleifera removed 83% colour, 97% turbidity and reduced E. coli by
66%. Corresponding removal values for alum were 88% colour, 99% turbidity and 89% E. coli, and for ferric
were 93% colour, 98% turbidity and 86% E. coli. Tests on model water, using a secondary treatment stage
sand filter showed maximum turbidity removal of 97% and maximum E. coli reduction of 98% using M.
oleifera, compared with 100% turbidity and 97% E. coli for alum. Although not as effective as alum or ferric,
M. oleifera showed sufficient removal capability to encourage its use for treatment of turbid waters in
developing countries.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction few seconds is important after adding a coagulant to ensure a uni-

Many impurities in water and wastewater are present as colloi-
dal solids, which do not readily settle. Finely dispersed suspended
and colloidal particles that produce turbidity and colour of the
water cannot be removed sufficiently by ordinary sedimentation.
Colloidal particles generally carry a negative electrical charge.
Their diameter ranges from 10 4 to 10 6 mm (Fig. 1). These parti-
cles are surrounded by an electrical double layer (diffuse layer and
Stern layer) preventing contact between each other (Bache and
Gregory, 2007). Adding a coagulant (generally positively charged)
and mixing the water causes compression of the double layer
and thus neutralisation of the electrostatic surface potential of
the particles. The resulting destabilised particles stick together
upon contact forming solids known as ‘flocs’. Rapid mixing for a
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0) 7825010371; fax: +44 (0) 1138121958.
E-mail address: m.pritchard@leedsmet.ac.uk (M. Pritchard).
form dispersion of the coagulant and also to increase the opportu-
nity for particle-to-particle contact. Subsequent gentle and
prolonged mixing (at least 15 min) aids in the formation of flocs.
These flocs then are large enough to settle by gravity and may be
removed by filtration.
Inorganic coagulants and/or polymers are typically used during
the water treatment process to remove suspended solids, bacteria
and viruses. There are currently two main chemicals used to aid
coagulation in developed countries, these are aluminium sulphate
(Al2(SO4)3) and ferric sulphate (Fe2(SO4)3); termed alum and ferric
respectively. Due to the limited availability and relative expense of
these chemicals for the developing world, there is an urgent need
to find alternative water purification solutions (coagulation aids)
for rural villages.
Natural plant extracts such as Moringa oleifera, Jatropha curcas,
Guar gum, Strychnos potatorum, Hibiscus sabdariffa and Clidemia
angustifolia have been used for water purification for many

1474-7065/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.pce.2010.07.014
 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805
Inner (Stern) layer (0.3-0.5 nm).
Stern layer moves with the particle
and is ‘specifically adsorbed’ by the
colloidal particle – generally positive
charge (+)
Outer (Diffuse) layer – much
weaker than stern. Formed by
electrical forces and thermal
motion
Fig. 1. Electrical charge surrounding a colloidal particle (adapted from Bache and Gregory, 2007).
centuries. In particular, M. oleifera (Fig. 2) has been ranked as one
of the best plant extracts for water purification (Pritchard et al.,
2009). It has been found that the active component of M. oleifera
causing coagulation is a soluble protein that acts as a natural cat-
ionic polyelectrolyte during treatment and causes coagulation in
turbid water (Barth, 1982; Jahn, 1989).
The M. oleifera tree, typically up to 10 m tall, is easily cultivated
and is widespread in parts of Africa and India, with similar species
found in tropical America, Sri Lanka and Malaysia (Duke, 1983).
Globally up to 14 different species have so far been identified (Jahn,
1988), all of which yield seeds produced in pods, which vary in
length from 150 to 1200 mm between species and location (Jahn,
1989). The quality of seeds can vary between pods of the same
length and single seeds have been shown to vary in weight be-
(a) Tree
799
Colloidal particle,
charge (-)
tween 150 and 300 mg (Jahn, 1989). The M. oleifera tree can pro-
duce about 2000 seeds per year. This number of seeds would be
able to treat about 6000 l of water using a 50 mg/l dose. Trees
can, however, be cultivated to produce about five to ten times this
yield (i.e. 10,000–20,000 seeds). This would produce up to 60,000 l
of treated water per year. Simplistically it has been estimated that
a tree could be cultivated in a rural village to provide enough seeds
for four families to use for a whole year (allowing 20 l per person
per day). M. oleifera trees can be found growing around rural vil-
lages in Africa; local people have the ability to just climb these
trees and harvest the seeds and provide themselves with a ‘free’
coagulant.
Since the 1970s, M. oleifera has received various levels of inter-
est from a number of researchers (e.g. Jahn and Dirar, 1979;
(c) Seeds
(d) Shelled seeds
(b) Pods (e) Powder
Fig. 2. M. oleifera.
800 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805
Folkard, 1986; Sutherland, 1990, 1994; Muyibi and Evison, 1996;
Jeyanthi et al., 2004; Nkurunziza et al., 2009) assessing the poten-
tial as a primarily coagulant. There is, however, limited published
data to derive a direct comparison between the effectiveness of a
biological coagulant (such as M. oleifera) against that of established
chemical coagulants (such as alum and ferric). Work has mainly fo-
cused on using M. oleifera as a co-coagulant together with alum.
For example, when M. oleifera was added as a pre-treatment, Jahn
(1986) showed turbidity levels of raw water to be reduced beyond
the levels found when alum was used alone. Also, Sutherland
(1990) used M. oleifera and alum together, by dosing 15 mg/l alum
with 25 mg/l M. oleifera. This dose achieved a turbidity removal
from 150 NTU to approximately 10 NTU. A research project was
therefore undertaken to investigate the direct performance of M.
oleifera compared with that of alum and/or ferric in terms of coli-
form and turbidity removal.
2. Methodology
2.1. Equipment and coagulation procedure
Standard sedimentation jar test equipment was used in this
testing programme to determine the amount of coagulation, which
occurred under the different test conditions. The test rig (manufac-
tured by Aztec Environmental Control Ltd.) has six 1000 ml jars
that can be used to test each sample simultaneously. Each jar has
a paddle, whose speed can be set between 20 and 400 rpm. The
various coagulants (Section 2.2.1) were dosed into each sample
by a pipette. A rapid stirring period of 30 s at 200 rpm was then fol-
lowed by a slow stirring period of 15 min at 20 rpm to allow coag-
ulation to occur. The flocs which had formed were then allowed to
settle for 30 min before the turbidity and/or absorption measure-
ment of each sample was taken. Colour was measured as 254 nm
(UV-C light) using a CECIL 1020 spectrophotometer. Turbidity
was measured using a hand-held turbidimeter (Hannah Instru-
ment: 93102; range 0–1000 NTU; accuracy ±2%). The experimental
trials were undertaken under controlled conditions in the Microbi-
ology Laboratory at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. Standard
membrane filtration equipment and laboratory incubators were
used for the biological assessment part of this study.
2.2. Stock solutions and suspensions
To ensure consistency and replication throughout the testing
programme, stock solutions were created for coagulant dosing
and for artificially creating the required parameters under investi-
gation. This is an accepted and recognised procedure for empirical
testing programmes and has been frequently used by other
researchers, such as Muyibi and Evison (1996), UNEP (1997), Duan
and Gregory (1998), Folkard et al. (1999).
2.2.1. Coagulants
To create a stock solution, good quality M. oleifera seeds (not
rotten) were shelled by hand and reduced to a fine powder using
a laboratory blender. The powder was then sieved though a sieve
of 1 mm aperture size. The powder (4 g) was first partially wetted
to create a paste, which was then further diluted to 200 ml. The
solution was stirred for 10 min, after which it was allowed to stand
for 30 min so that any remaining solids could settle. The superna-
tant was then drawn off for dosing.
In developed countries, alum, a chemical coagulant, is normally
used to treat turbid river water and was thus chosen for compari-
son with M. oleifera on such waters. Concentrated alum solution
(Al2(SO4)3), of which 6.3% was Al3+, was added to double distilled
water (2 g per 100 ml) and thoroughly mixed. This diluted solution
could then be used to accurately dose water samples. For example,
to achieve a 30 mg/l dose, 28 ml of this solution would need to be
added to a 1000 ml water sample.
Alum is not suited to treating water of high colour; instead, fer-
ric has typically been used to treat such waters. For highly coloured
water, ferric was therefore chosen as the chemical coagulant to
compare with M. oleifera. Concentrated ferric solution Fe2(SO4)3,
which was 13.5% as Fe, was added to double distilled water (1 g
per 100 ml) and thoroughly mixed. Similarly to alum, to achieve
a 10 mg/l dose, 7.4 ml of this solution would need to be added to
a 1000 ml water sample.
2.2.2. Escherichia coli
A fresh strain of E. coli was directly isolated from river water.
The water sample was collected in accordance with World Health
Organisation (WHO) guidelines (1997, p. 186) and analysed as de-
tailed in Section 2.5. A sub-culture of E. coli was made and con-
firmed by an API-20E bacterial identification test strip. The strain
was then cultured for use in this experimental trial. Single colonies
of E. coli were inoculated into 10 ml nutrient broth and incubated
overnight at 37 °C. Following incubation the culture was centri-
fuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was aseptically re-
moved and the E. coli pellet resuspended in 10 ml double
distilled water. The centrifugation process was repeated to ensure
that all nutrient broth was removed from the E. coli pellet, which
was again resuspended in 10 ml of double distilled water to give
a washed stock suspension of E. coli. Previous testing carried out
by Pritchard et al. (2007 and 2008) in Malawi indicated that up
to 30,000 faecal cfu/100 ml were present in some of the rural vil-
lages’ water supplies. As E. coli is considered the most suitable in-
dex of faecal contamination (WHO, 2006, p. 284), a target E. coli
dose for the samples tested was set to be between 1  104 and
3  104 cfu/100 ml. Spread plate counts indicated that typically
1 ml of a 10 3 dilution of the washed stock E. coli suspension would
produce the target E. coli count when dosed into 1000 ml of sample
water.
2.2.3. Turbidity
Kaolin was used to artificially create different levels of turbidity
in water samples. The kaolin used was sourced from BDH Ltd., UK
(reference: 24926.295). A 120 g of kaolin powder was mixed to-
gether with 400 ml of deionised water in a laboratory blender. This
was transferred to a 1000 ml beaker and diluted by the addition of
a further 600 ml of deionised water. The suspension was then
slowly stirred and the pH corrected to 7.5 using sodium hydroxide.
It was then left to stand for 24 h after which the upper 500 ml was
decanted and further diluted with deionised water to 1000 ml. The
pH was again corrected to 7.5 and the kaolin stock suspension was
stored at 4 °C.
2.3. Water samples
To replicate a wide spectrum of parameters a number of differ-
ent types of water were considered. These ranged from artificially
contaminated water, which would provide unequivocal replication
without the influence of external variables, to different natural
water supplies, influenced by environmental conditions. In addi-
tion, a hybrid of these two types of water was considered, i.e. a nat-
ural water source with artificially created parameters.
2.3.1. Model turbid water
The correct amount of kaolin stock suspension (typically 8–9 ml
per litre, to produce a turbidity of 140–175 NTU) and 1 ml of
1  10 3 E. coli stock suspension were firstly mixed in a 50 ml
vortex tube to disperse the bacteria within the kaolin stock
 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805
suspension. This mixture was then dispensed evenly between
1000 ml samples of deionised water prior to coagulation.
2.3.2. Natural water
Three natural sources of water were tested, these being:
 Albert Water Treatment Works (reservoir water), Yorkshire
Water, Halifax, UK (53:43:35N, 1:53:30W) and was highly col-
oured with low turbidity.
 Meanwood Valley River, Leeds, UK (53:49:51N, 1:34:33W) and
had low colour and varying turbidity.
 Ewden Water Treatment Works (reservoir water), Yorkshire
Water, Sheffield, UK (53:27:22N, 1:33:08W) and was high in
colour but low in turbidity.
In the case of reservoir samples, access was granted into treat-
ment facilities by Yorkshire Water and so samples were taken from
on-site raw water sampling outlets. The river water was collected
in accordance with WHO (1997, p. 186). In order to provide a ster-
ile container, samples of up to 16 l were collected in 8 l autoclav-
able plastic bottles with airtight screw top lids.
2.3.3. Hybrid water
Natural sample water did not yield turbidities greater than
60 NTU. This was below the range recorded by Pritchard et al.
(2007 and 2008) in shallow wells in Malawi of a maximum
812 NTU, with a more typical high range of 60–150 NTU. A hybrid
water was therefore created to mimic a water source with high col-
our, turbidity and bacterial content. Naturally coloured reservoir
water was sourced from Ewden Water Treatment Works and kao-
lin and E. coli were artificially added. This created water with an
absorption of 20 abs/m, a turbidity of 160 NTU and an E. coli count
in the range 1  104 to 2  104 cfu/100 ml.
2.4. Coagulant dosing
The required dose of coagulant stock solution, for all the tests
conducted throughout this study, was added into the jar test sam-
ples by a pipette. As the jar testing equipment was able to test up
to six 1000 ml samples, one sample was left untreated to provide a
control.
An initial assessment was made to confirm that reduction in
turbidity removal was linked to corresponding reductions in bacte-
ria. A series of M. oleifera doses, between 20 and 150 mg/l in seven
incremental steps, were selected to provide a range either side of
optimum dose for turbidity removal. These were used to treat a
kaolin model suspension of turbidity 175 NTU with added E. coli
(1  104 cfu/100 ml). For the tests which compared M. oleifera to
that of alum and/or ferric, doses around optimum were selected
(e.g. 25–75 mg/l for M. oleifera; 30–50 mg/l for alum; 10–20 mg/l
for ferric).
An alternative method of dosing was also trialled that maybe
easier to implement in the field. Previous studies showed muslin
cloth could be used to remove solids left in suspension after the
M. oleifera powder was first mixed with water (Jahn, 1986; Muyibi
and Evison, 1995; Ndabigengesere and Narasiah, 1996; Folkard
et al., 1999). However, the methods used in these studies required
a measured volume of solution (for correct dosing) or knowledge of
the number of powdered seeds put into solution. A further devel-
opment of this was the use a muslin pouch containing a specific
number of powdered seeds of M. oleifera as this was though to
be more practicable. To test this concept, a series of muslin
pouches were filled with the sieved M. oleifera powder at different
doses (Fig. 3). These pouches were then attached to the stirring
blades on the jar testing equipment. The coagulation procedure
was undertaken as defined in Section 2.1; however, an additional
801
Start
Fold 2 ways
80 mm x 80 mm
muslin
Finish
Add M. Oleifera
Pouch powder
Band/String
Fold to one quarter
Fig. 3. Muslin pouch creation.
10 min of slow stirring at 20 rpm was employed to allow the
pouches to become fully saturated.
2.5. Total coliforms/E. coli analysis
In all tests sub-samples were taken from the jars after settling
and diluted in sterile 0.1% peptone water to 10 1, 10 2 and 10 3.
For replication, duplicate samples were then filtered through
0.45 lm Whatman membrane filters onto Petri dishes, containing
Membrane Lactose Glucuronide Agar (MLGA) from Oxoid Ltd.,
UK. After which, samples were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Yellow
and green colonies were counted as total coliforms (TC) and green
colonies as E. coli and calculated to represent a count per 100 ml in
accordance with EA (2009, pp. 25–38).
2.6. Secondary treatment by filtration
In order to further reduce E. coli counts in the model water sam-
ples, a filtration stage was introduced. The use of a muslin cloth has
been noted by Folkard et al. (1999) to remove insoluble matter
from crude aqueous M. oleifera solution. The use of sand filtration
after coagulation using M. oleifera has been reported by Al-Khalili
et al. (1997), McConnachie et al. (1999), Muyibi and Alfugara
(2003). These methods were therefore trialled during this study.
In that, filtration was achieved by pouring the coagulated settled
water samples through either a muslin cloth or through laboratory
scale sand filter containing 0.6–1.18 mm quartz sand.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Model turbid water
The relationship between the removal of turbidity and reduc-
tion in E. coli is shown in Fig. 4. It was found that the reduction
in E. coli was directly linked to the turbidity removal achieved dur-
ing coagulation. From an initial E. coli count of 11,050 cfu/100 ml
and turbidity of 175 NTU, corresponding reductions were always
found to be within 15% of one another. For example, a dose of
125 mg/l M. oleifera gave a turbidity removal of 74% and E. coli
reduction of 84%; whereas a low dose of 20 mg/l M. oleifera only re-
duced turbidity and E. coli by 59% and 52% respectively. This is in
agreement with other published literature (e.g. Jahn, 1986) where
it was noted that coliform reduction is directly related to the
removal of turbidity in a sample of treated water; with the most
802 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805

M. oleifera dose (mg/l)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
0 0

10 10

Reduction in E. coli per 100ml (%)

20 E. coli
20

Reduction in turbidity (%)

30
Turbidity 30
40
40
50
50
60
60
70
70
80

90 80

100 90

Fig. 4. Relationship between turbidity removal (initial turbidity 175 NTU) and E. coli reduction in water coagulated with M. oleifera.

clarified water, treated at an optimum dose, typically showing the in its quality. Also, if the pouch is tight the powder in the centre
best microbiological reduction. may not be wetted as much as if the pouch was loose. Many small
Table 1 details a comparative performance of M. oleifera to an variables are introduced as a result of using the pouch for
equivalent dose of alum in the model turbid water sample. Under coagulation.
these conditions the alum outperformed M. oleifera in terms of tur-
bidity removal. The M. oleifera dose was seen to reduce turbidity by
3.2. Natural water
over 80%, compared with over 99% for that of alum. With an initial
E. coli count of 8300 cfu/100 ml, reductions of 88% and over 99%
Results from the naturally sourced water are shown in Tables
were recorded for M. oleifera and alum respectively.
3–6. The reservoir water from Albert Water Treatment Works,
Data from a subsequent test using the muslin pouch dosing
which was of high colour (Fig. 5), was treated initially with M. oleif-
method are detailed in Table 2. In this instance, the turbidity re-
era only (Table 3). Far higher doses (15) were required than in the
moval was approximately 85%, but E. coli reduction was lower at
model water, to successfully produce coagulation. For example, a
74% (from 7850 to 2080 E. coli cfu/100 ml). However, further tests
750 mg/l dose only showed a 52% improvement in absorption,
using this method would be required to optimise the performance.
but yielded a 74% reduction from 5300 total cfu/100 ml. No
It is important to note, however, that the pouch dosing method
E. coli was recorded in the control sample.
may not be as consistent as the M. oleifera stock solution method
A test was conducted using low turbidity river water (from
– the small amount of powder used to dose each sample may vary
Meanwood Valley) to compare M. oleifera to ferric. This water
had an initial absorption of 11.1 abs/m, as detailed in Table 4.
The results showed a 41% reduction in absorption for M. oleifera,
Table 1
Performance of M. oleifera and alum in model turbid water.
in comparison with a 69% reduction for ferric. The chemical coag-
ulant far outperformed the natural coagulant again and its best
Coagulant Dosea Turbidity E. coli Turbidity E. coli performing dose was also far lower (20 mg/l for ferric, compared
(mg/l) (NTU) (cfu/100 ml) removal (%) reduction (%)
with 500 mg/l for M. oleifera). However, when bacterial analysis
Control 0 146 8300 0 0 was undertaken the results were more comparable. Initial E. coli
b b
M. oleifera 25 33.0 – 77.4 – and TC counts per 100 ml were 605 and 3300 cfu respectively.
50 23.8 995 83.7 88.0 Reductions in TC were 77% for M. oleifera and 96% for ferric; for
b b
100 113.0 – 22.6 –
E. coli reductions were 82% for M. oleifera and 94% for ferric. These
b b
Alum 30 7.1 – 95.1 – results indicate that M. oleifera reduces the E. coli content by a rel-
50 0.8 21 99.5 99.8
atively high amount considering the reduction in absorption was
a
Dosed by stock solution. largely inferior to that of ferric.
b
Not tested. River water from Meanwood Valley was retested just after a
period of rainfall. The water showed a natural turbidity of

Table 2
Performance of M. oleifera dosed by muslin pouch in model turbid water. Table 3
Performance of M. oleifera in reservoir water.
a
Coagulant Dose Turbidity E. coli Turbidity E. coli
(mg/l) (NTU) (cfu/100 ml) removal (%) reduction (%) Coagulant Dosea Colour TC Reduction TC reduction
(mg/l) (abs/m) (cfu/100 ml) in colour (%) (%)
Control 0 131 7850 0 0
b b
Control 0 72.1 5300 0 0
M. oleifera 10 110 – 16.0 –
b b
25 20.7 b
– 84.2 b
– M. oleifera 250 58.2 – 19.3 –
b b
50 19.8 2080 84.9 74 500 42.6 – 40.9 –
75 26.5 b
– 79.8 b
– 750 34.3 1400 52.4 73.6
a
a
Dosed by muslin pouch. Dosed by stock solution.
b
b
Not tested. Not tested.
 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805 803

Table 4
Performance of M. oleifera and ferric in low turbidity river water (4.5 NTU).

Coagulant Dosea (mg/l) Colour (abs/m) TC (cfu/100 ml) E. coli (cfu/100 ml) Colour reduction (%) TC reduction (%) E. coli reduction (%)
Control 0 11.1 3300 605 0 0 0
b b b b
M. oleifera 300 13.7 – – 23.4 – –
500 6.5 765 110 41.4 76.8 81.8
600 6.0c b
– b
– 29.5 b
– b
–
b b b b
Ferric 10 3.7 – – 66.7 – –
20 3.5 145 35 68.5 95.6 94.2
a
Dosed by stock solution.
b
Not tested.
c
Control for this sample had initial colour of 8.5 abs/m.

Table 5
Performance of M. oleifera and alum in turbid river.

Coagulant Dosea Colour (abs/ Turbidity TC (cfu/ E. coli (cfu/ Colour reduction Turbidity removal TC reduction E. coli reduction
(mg/l) m) (NTU) 100 ml) 100 ml) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Control 0 3.3 45.4 82500 2650 0 24.4 0 0
M. oleifera 250 0.8 11.8 5050 195 75.8 74.0 93.9 92.6
b b b b
500 2.4 14.2 – – 27.3 68.8 – –
b b b b
1000 1.9 12.3 – – 42.4 72.9 – –
b b b b
Alum 30 1.2 5.0 56.8 89.0 – –
50 0.7 4.2 915 60 78.8 90.7 98.9 97.7
a
Dosed by stock solution.
b
Not tested.

Table 6
Performance of the three coagulants in hybrid water.

Coagulant Dosea Control E. coli Colour Turbidity Residual E. coli Colour Turbidity E. coli
(mg/l) (cfu/100 ml) (abs/m) (NTU) (cfu/100 ml) reduction (%) removal (%) reduction (%)
Control 0 19,250–22,200 18.2–20.0 159–161 19,250–22,200 0 0 0
b b
Moringa 750 22,200 3.0 13.6 – 83.5 91.6 –
1000 22,200 3.5 4.5 7600 82.5 97.2 65.8
b b
1250 19,250 6.0 64.0 – 70.0 59.7 –
b b
Alum 30 19,250 2.0 1.5 – 90.0 99.1 –
50 19,250 2.4 1.0 2140 88.0 99.3 88.9
Ferric 10 22,200 1.3 3.7 3015 92.9 97.7 86.4
b b
20 22,200 3.5 4.4 – 80.8 97.3 –
a
Dosed by stock solution.
b
Not tested.

45 NTU and was highly contaminated with 2650 E. coli cfu/100 ml
and 82,500 total cfu/100 ml. A test was undertaken to compare M.
oleifera with alum, which is generally used to treat water of higher
turbidity (Table 5). Similarly to the coloured reservoir water, a
higher M. oleifera dose (250 mg/l) was required to reduce turbidity
by 74%; whereas, the alum dose (50 mg/l) remained adequate to
treat the water (91% removal). Corresponding TC reductions of
94% and 99% were obtained from M. oleifera and alum respectively.
Reduction in E. coli was similar: 93% for M. oleifera and 98% for
alum. Although outperformed in terms of turbidity removal the
M. oleifera still reduced the bacterial content of the water sample
significantly.

3.3. Hybrid water

The hybrid water sample had a high colour of 20 abs/m, turbid-

ity of 160 NTU and was spiked with an initial E. coli content of
19,250–22,200 cfu/100 ml (Table 6). The doses showing the high-
est turbidity removal were analysed for bacterial content – these
were 1000; 50; 10 mg/l for M. oleifera, alum and ferric respectively.
(a) Control (b) M. oleifera 750 mg/l Compared with previous tests, the M. oleifera performed better in
terms of turbidity removal, in the order of 97%. This removal com-
Fig. 5. Colour removal from reservoir water. pared well with 99% for alum and 98% for ferric. In terms of colour
804 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805

reduction, absorption was reduced by 83% for M. oleifera, 88% for 3.5. Secondary stage treatment by filtration
alum and 93% for ferric (Fig. 6). The E. coli reduction, from a control
content of 19,250–22,200 E. coli per 100 ml, was 66%, 89% and 86% The two methods of filtration used yielded different results (Ta-
for M. oleifera, alum and ferric respectively. It is evident that signif- ble 8). The use of muslin cloth as a filter is largely ineffective as the
icant E. coli reduction is possible using M. oleifera as a coagulant, turbidity of the settled samples was not reduced after filtration.
which is encouraging for its potential use as a coagulant in coun- Reduction in E. coli after filtration was only 71% for M. oleifera com-
tries where chemical coagulants may be unobtainable. pared with 99% for alum, which did not improve on previous non-
filtered tests, as detailed in Table 1. Results for the sand filter (Ta-
ble 8) do, however, show an improvement in removal of turbidity
3.4. Guideline values and E. coli reduction. Over multiple sand filtration tests, for a
50 mg/l dose of M. oleifera, the percentage reduction in turbidity
According to the World Health Organisation guideline (WHO,
2006) and Malawi Bureau Standard (MBS, 2005) for drinking water
Table 8
quality the maximum turbidities permitted are 5 NTU and 1 NTU
Performance of M. oleifera and alum in model turbid water filtered through muslin
respectively, with no coliforms permitted – E. coli represents the cloth/sand.
most suitable index of faecal contamination (WHO, 2006, p. 284).
Filter Coagulant Dosea Turbidity Removal after E. coli
However, the Malawi Ministry of Water Development (MoWD)
type (mg/l) removalb (%) filtration (%) reduction
has a temporary guideline for untreated water supplies, which per- (%)
mits up to 25 NTU and 50 total and faecal cfu/100 ml.
Muslin cloth M. 50 81.5 82.2
Table 7 details the guidelines which were met by the various oleifera
tests undertaken. It can be seen that it was relatively easy to meet 70.7
c
guideline values for WHO (2006) and MoWD (2003) in terms of Alum 30 97.9 – 99.7
turbidity; however, comparatively hard to meet the MBS (2005) Sand M. oleifera 50 74–85 80–97 87–98
c
turbidity standard or E. coli/TC values for all guidelines/standards. Alum 30–50 96–100 – 97
Further purification would be required (e.g. chlorine) following a
Dosed by stock solution.
coagulation. Overall, alum was the coagulant which performed b
Initial turbidity 147–174 NTU.
the best; followed by ferric and lastly M. oleifera. c
Filtration not carried out as the turbidity was <5 NTU, i.e. within the WHO
(2006) guideline value.

(a) Control (b) M. oleifera 1,000 mg/l (c) Ferric 10 mg/l (d) Alum 50 mg/l
Fig. 6. Turbidity and colour removal.

Table 7
Samples which met the various drinking water quality guidelines.

Standard/guideline Coagulant Turbidity TC

Model Natural Hybrid Muslin filtration Sand filtration Model Natural Hybrid Muslin filtration Sand filtration
WHO (2006) M. oleifera X X Y X Y X X X X X
Alum Y Y Y Y Y X X X X X
Ferric N N Y N N N N X N N
MBS (2005) M. oleifera X X X X X X X X X X
Alum Y Y Y X Y X X X X X
Ferric N N X N N N N X N N
MoWD (2003) M. oleifera Y Y Y X Y X X X X X
Alum Y Y Y Y Y Y X X Y X
Ferric N N Y N N N N X N N

Y = Within guideline value.

X = Outside guideline value.
N = Not tested.
 M. Pritchard et al. / Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 35 (2010) 798–805
increased from 74–85% to 87–98%. Under these conditions the tur-
bidity was reduced to within the WHO (2006) guideline value of
5 NTU and easily within the MoWD (2003) temporary guideline
of 25 NTU (Table 7). From initial control counts of between 3100
and 15,100 E. coli cfu/100 ml, sand filtration led to an E. coli reduc-
tion of 87–98%, but again did not match the reduction achieved by
alum (Table 8).
The coagulated filtered water does not, however, meet the bac-
terial content specified in either WHO (2006), MBS (2005) or
MoWD (2003) guidelines. It does, nevertheless, offer a significant
improvement over the results presented in Tables 1, 2 and 6 and
represents a major step that could be achieved towards proving
an improved water source at sustainable level. It offers an alterna-
tive solution to drinking water from untreated sources, because the
expense of chemical coagulants prohibits their use in many devel-
oping countries.
4. Conclusions
 Both alum and ferric outperformed M. oleifera in the various
conditions tested during this research programme.
 Alum and ferric required a lower dose level than M. oleifera to
achieve optimum reduction conditions.
 M. oleifera performed better in naturally sourced water, than in
model water, but required a higher dose level.
 The use of sand filtration, after coagulation by M. oleifera, fur-
ther reduced turbidity and bacteria levels.
 Even though M. oleifera was not found to be as effective as alum
and ferric or capable of meeting guideline values, the use of M.
oleifera together with sand filtration offers significant improve-
ments to drinking water for developing countries using locally
available products.
5. Recommendations
 Further research work is required to optimise the sand filtration
stage, after coagulation using M. oleifera, i.e. to try to meet
guideline values published by WHO (2006).
 Also additional work is required to assess the full potential of M.
oleifera to remove colour – being a natural coagulant (a protein)
it may have certain advantages over chemical coagulants.
 It is paramount that natural water sources are used in future
studies, as the coagulation performance of M. oleifera cannot
be replicated, to the same degree, by model water.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank
 Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of Malawi –
The Polytechnic for their support throughout this research
programme.
 Jenny Banks of Yorkshire Water for providing equipment and
advice.
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