10/11/2015

TreatmentofwaterturbidityandbacteriabyusingacoagulantextractedfromPlantagoovata
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WaterResourcesandIndustry
Volume6,August2014,Pages3650

OpenAccess

Treatmentofwaterturbidityandbacteriabyusingacoagulant
extractedfromPlantagoovata
BahmanRamavandi

UnderaCreativeCommonslicense
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doi:10.1016/j.wri.2014.07.001

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Abstract
AbiocoagulantwassuccessfullyextractedfromPlantagoovatabyusinganFeCl3
inducedcrudeextract(FCE).ThepotentialofFCEtoactasanaturalcoagulantwas
testedforclarificationusingtheturbidwaterofariver.Experimentaltestswere
performedtoevaluatetheeffectsofturbidityconcentration,coagulantquantity,waterpH,
andhumicacidconcentrationonthecoagulationofwaterturbiditybyFCE.The
maximumturbidityremovalwasoccurredatwaterpH<8.AttheoptimumdosageofFCE,
only0.8mg/Lofdissolvedorganiccarbonwasreleasedtothetreatedwater.Anincrease
inthehumicacidledtothepromotionofthewaterturbidityremoval.Results
demonstratedthattheFCEremovedmorethan95.6%ofallinitialturbidity
concentrations(50300NTU).Highbacteriologicalqualitywasachievedinthetreated
water.FCEasanecofriendlybiocoagulantwasrevealedtobeaveryefficientcoagulant
forremovingturbidityfromwaters.

Keywords
BiocoagulantCoagulationHumicacidPlantagoovataWaterturbidity

1.Introduction
Often,thewatersfromsurfacewaterresourceshaveahighlevelofturbidityandneedto
betreatedwithflocculation/coagulationtoremovetheturbidity.Manyflocculantsand
coagulantsarewidelyusedinconventionalwatertreatmentprocesses.Thesematerials
canbeclassifiedintoinorganiccoagulants(e.g.,aluminumandferricsalts)andsynthetic
organicpolymers(e.g.,polyacrylamidederivativesandpolyethyleneimine).Allofthem
areveryefficientatturbidityremovalfromwater[1].Thecostofachievingthedesired
levelofwaterqualitydependsprimarilyonthecostandtheavailabilityofthecoagulation
agents.Aluminumsaltsaremostwidelyusedtogetherwithsyntheticorganicpolymersin
watertreatments.Thesecoagulantsareoftenexpensive,andinmanydeveloping
countries,theyhavetobeimported.
Moreover,thehighsensitivityofinorganiccoagulantstothewaterpHandthepossibility
ofsecondarycontaminationofdrinkingwaterwithtracesoftoxicsyntheticpolymeric
coagulantsorresidualironandaluminumionsarethemainchallengesofflocculation
coagulationwatertreatmentprocesses[2].Further,manyresearchershaverelated
Alzheimersdiseasetotheresidualaluminumionsinthetreatedwaters[3].Moreover,as
reportedbyAnastasakisetal.[4],thesludgeformedinwatertreatmentplantsduring
flocculationcoagulationwithsyntheticpolymershasalimitedpotentialforrecycling
becauseofthenonbiodegradabilityofsyntheticpolymers.Tomaketheflocculation
coagulationprocessmoreattractive,novellowcostcoagulantswithhighercoagulation
capabilityarerequired.Thishasledagrowingresearchinterestintheproductionof
naturalandfoodgradecoagulantsfromrenewableandrelativelycosteffective
precursors.Itcancontributetoachievingsustainablewatertreatmenttechnologies.
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TreatmentofwaterturbidityandbacteriabyusingacoagulantextractedfromPlantagoovata

Naturalcoagulants,mainlypolysaccharidesandproteins,areconsideredecofriendlyin
comparisonwithinorganicandorganiccoagulantsbecauseoftheirbiodegradability
[5]and[6].
Recently,theuseofsomenaturalpolymersforthetreatmentofvarioustypesofwater
andwastewaterhasbeenreported.Table1summarizessomeofthepublishedliterature
onturbidityremovalbynaturalcoagulants.Asshown,themostcommoncoagulantsare
plainorchemicallymodifiedandexhibitrelativelylowturbidityremovalofbetween50%
and90%.Moreover,mostofthesenaturalcoagulantschangeddissolvedorganiccarbon
(DOC),whichcancauseaconcerninthechlorinationprocess[15].Becauseofthe
biomaterialsrelativelylowefficiencyofturbidityremoval,theproductionandextraction
ofthesebiomaterialsascoagulantsisveryexpensive,makingthemimpracticalforfull
scaleapplications.
Table1.
Summaryofrecentlypublishedliteratureoncoagulatingefficiencybynaturalcoagulants.
Optimum
dose(mg/L)

Turbidity
removal(%)

DOCchange

References

Hibiscusesculentus
seedpods

9397.3

190%increase

[4]

Malvasylvestris
mucilage

12

96.397.4

80%increase

[4]

Hercofloc

50

[7]

Nalco610

10

62

[7]

PuriflocC31

50

50

34%reduction(10%increase
atlowerdoses)

[8]

1.6

[9]

Coagulant

Download PDF

GraftedPlantago
psylliummucilage

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Article outline

Abstract
Keywords
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
3. Results and discussion
4. Conclusions
Conflict of interest
Acknowledgments
References

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M.oleiferaseeds
Show full outlineAdvanced

100

64%reduction

[10]

M.oleiferaseeds

50

90

>50%increase

[11]

M.oleiferaseeds

6000

52%reduction

[12]

1Steppurificationof
M.oleifera

97

32%increasea

[13]

2Steppurificationof
M.oleifera

98.5

17%increasea

[13]

Chestnutandacorn

0.5mL/L

7080

1mL/L

[14]

ThedatawasderivedfromTable1andFig.2ofRef.[13].
Tableoptions

Figures and tables

Table 1

Table 2
Table 3

Regardingthedifferenceincoagulationcapacityofvariouscoagulantsaswellas
cheapness,varietyandeaseofaccess,theuseofregionalcoagulantsisstudiedto
evaluatetheirapplicability.Inthisstudy,wehaveattemptedtousePlantagoovata(Fig.
1aandb)asanabundantlyavailable,lowcost,andrenewableprecursorforproducinga
coagulantfortheremovalofwaterturbidity.WehaveconsideredP.ovatabecauseitisa
selfandfastgrownandcommonplantthatgrownmainlyinthroughoutIranespeciallythe
surroundingareaofBushehrcityandiseasilypreparedandused.P.ovataisasmall,
oneyearoldplantwithoutorwithaveryshortstemcoveredwithsoftfibers,from
Plantaginaceaefamilyitsheightrangesfrom7to30cm[16].P.ovataseeds(Fig.1b)
containmucilage,protein,fixedoil,cellulose,andstarch[17].Interestingly,asisclear
fromTable1,theefficiencyofturbidityremovalbyanaturalcoagulantissignificantly
influencedbythecharacteristicsandtheoriginofthecoagulant.Therefore,wehave
developedanextractionmethodaimedatimprovingthematerialscoagulationcapability
andthereforereducingtherateofcoagulantconsumptiontomakewaterturbidity
removalmorecosteffective.

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Fig.1.
(a)and(b)P.ovataplantand(c)P.ovateseeds.
Figureoptions

Severalchemicalshavebeenusedintheprocessofcoagulantextraction,andthebest
extractionhasbeenobtainedwiththepresenceofKClorNaNO3[18]and[19]andNaCl
[13].However,themainchallengerelatedtothismethodofcoagulantextractionisthe
materialsrelativelylowefficiencyforturbidityremovalandtheDOCformationduringthe
treatmentprocess.Thesesalts,whichhaveaonevalancemetal,aredepositedinthe
internalstructureandtheporesofthecoagulantandmaybeusefulforturbidityremoval.
Inthisresearch,aninnovativemethodisused.WehaveusedFeCl3duringthe
purificationoftheextractedcoagulantwiththeassumptionthattheFe3+ionsgettrapped
inthestructureoftheextractedbiocoagulantfromP.ovata.Therefore,accordingtothe
HardySchulzerule[20],Fe3+canimprovethecoagulationpotentialofthecoagulantas
comparedtoK+andNa+.Literaturesurveybytheauthorinmostofthepeerreviewed
journalsindicatedthatturbidityandbacteriaremovalbyFeCl3inducedcrudeextract
(FCE)asacoagulanthasnotbeeninvestigatedandthisisthefirstsuchstudy
undertakenbytheauthor.
Therefore,thispaperevaluatesthecoagulationpotentialofFCEobtainedfromP.ovata
seedsfortheturbidityremovalfromwater.Theeffectoftheoperationalparameters
includingFCEdoseandinitialwaterturbidityandthewatercharacteristics(waterpHand
humicacid)isstudiedtobetterunderstandthecoagulationprocessusingFCE.The
influenceofFCEdosageonbacteriologicalcharacteristicsofspikedwaterisalso
assessed.

2.Materialsandmethods
2.1.Materials
DryseedsofP.ovatawerepurchasedfromalocalHerbalmarketandstoredatroom
temperature.Analyticalgradeammoniumacetate,sodiumhydroxide,hydrochloricacid,
ferricchloride,andcalciumchlorideweresuppliedbyAldrichCo.Ethanol(98%),CM
Sepharose,andkaolinwerepurchasedfromMerckCo.Further,humicacidpowderwith
molecularweightrangingfrom2to50kDa,extractedfrombrowncoalusingNaOH
(AldrichChemicalCo.,Inc.,USA),wasapplied.
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2.2.ExtractionandpurificationprocessesofcoagulantfromP.ovata
ExtractionofthecrudecoagulantfromP.ovataseedswascarriedoutasfollows:

Theseedsweresoakedinwaterfor1day.

Theobtainedgelatinousmaterialwasfilteredanddriedat70Cinanovenandthen
milledinadomesticblender(VARING).

Theobtainedpowderwasdefattedbymixingitwithethanol98%usingamagnetic
stirrerfor60min.Then,thesupernatantwasseparatedbycentrifugation(3500rpm,
40min),andthesettledpowderwasdriedovernightinanoven(at60C).

Thecrudecoagulantwasextractedfromtheoilfreepowderusing10mM
ammoniumacetatein5%w/w.Themixturewasstirredfor50minusingamagnetic
stirrer,andthesupernatant,namelythecrudeextract,wasseparatedby
centrifugation(3500rpm,40min).

Thepurificationofthecoagulantproteinfromthecrudeextractwasperformedasfollows:

CMSepharoseionexchangewasequilibratedusinga10mMammoniumacetate
solution.

EquilibratedCMSepharoseionexchangewasaddedtothecrudeextractin10%
(v/v)proportionandmixedusingabladestirrerfor50min.

Finally,theabsorbedcoagulantproteinwaselutedbydifferentconcentrationsofa
FeCl3solution.

Thepurificationprocedurewascarriedoutdirectlywith0.025MFeCl3firstandthenwith
0.05MFeCl3elutionaccordingtothebasisoftheionexchangeprocesses[13].Inthe
firstelution,proteinsthatpresumablydidnotleadtoahighercoagulationperformance
andsimplyaddedDOCinthetreatedwaterwereremoved.Consequently,thesecond
elutionproducedamorepurifiedcoagulantasitcontainedonlytheactivecoagulant
proteins.Theelutionstageswererepeatedthreetimestorecoverasmuchcoagulantas
possible.Further,wenotedthataftertheeachpurificationofextractionbyFeCl3,the
resultantcoagulantwasrinsedmanytimeswithdoubledistilledwateruntilFeionsnot
detectableinrinsedwater.
2.3.Watersamplepreparation
RawsurfacewaterwasobtainedfromKarunRiverinKhuzestanprovince,Iran.The
averagespecificationsofKarunRiverwaterarepresentedinTable2.Therawwaterwas
spikedwithkaolinasamodelsuspensiontoprovidethedesiredturbidityasfollows:a
stocksolutionofkaolin(10g/L)waspreparedwithfreshriverwaterandwasstirredfor
24h.Then,acertainvolumewastakenanddilutedwithriverwateruntilthedesignated
levelofturbiditywasachieved.Theresultingsuspensionwasfoundtobecolloidaland
usedasastocksolutionforthepreparationofturbidwatersamples.
Table2.
AveragerawwatercharacterizationofKarunRiver.
Characteristic

Unit

value

Turbidity

NTU

76

Suspendedsolids

mg/L

10

pH

7.01

Conductivity

S/cm

328.8

TOC

mg/L

8.6

DOC

mg/L

4.02

Hardness

mg/LCaCO3

290

Nitrate

mg/L

27.8

Nitrite

mg/L

0.07

Totalcoliforms

CFU/100mL

537

Fecalcoliforms

CFU/100mL

369

FecalStreptococcus

CFU/100mL

131
Tableoptions

2.4.Coagulationprocedure
Coagulationtestswerecarriedoutusingastandardjartestapparatus(PhippsandBird,
Model300).Thejartestisthemostwidelyappliedmethodforevaluatingandoptimizing
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thecoagulationflocculationprocessbasedonstandardmethods[21].Theprepared
turbidwater(300mL)havingdifferentinitialturbiditieswasfilledintobeakers(1L),and
thestandardprocedureforthejartestwasfollowedataconstantroomtemperatureof
24C.Thestandardprocedureinvolved1minofrapidmixing(120rpm)followedby
10minofslowmixing(45rpm)forflocculation.Then,thetreatedwaterwasallowedto
settlefor15min,andthesupernatantsamplewaswithdrawnbyasyringefrom
approximately2cmbelowtheliquidlevelforanalysis.TheinitialpHoftheriverturbid
waterwasadjustedtoadesiredvaluewith1MNaOHor1MHCl,andafurther
correctionofthepHwasnotcarriedoutduringtheexperiments.Thesamecoagulation
testwasconductedwithnocoagulantasablank.TheimpactofwaterpH,initialturbidity
concentration,coagulantquantity,andhumicacidconcentrationasvariableparameters
wasevaluatedasdifferentconditionsinthisresearch.Table3presentsthedetailsofthe
experimentalrunsandconditions.Alltheexperimentswereconductedinduplicate(the
accuracyisconsideredtobe4%)toensurethereproducibilityoftheresultsthemean
ofthesetwomeasurementsarepresentedherein.Theturbidityremovalefficiency(TRE)
wascalculatedusingEq.(1)asfollows:
(1)
Turn

on

whereT0andTrepresenttheinitialandfinalturbidities(NTU)ofwater,respectively.

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