Published Paper Details:

Turbidity is one of the major culprits which help microbes present in water and waste water to survive. Also drastically impact the water treatment efficiency mainly the process of disinfection. Coagulants such as Alum, PAC (Poly Aluminium Chloride), FeCl3 etc, are majorly used for the turbidity removal in water. Among this Alum is the most widely used coagulant in water treatment, because of its proven performance and cost effectiveness. Although alum has a proven track record, usage of same in drinking water system increases the concentration of Aluminium ion which does not falls under the WHO (World Health Organization) norms of drinking water standards. Hence this study would be an alternate approach for turbidity reduction in water by using natural coagulants. Different studies in ancient Tamil Literature show Strychnos potatorum Linn or Nirmali seed act as a best coagulating agent, which in turn helps in removal of turbidity in water. This study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of Strychnos potatorum Linn seed extract in removal of turbidity from the selected water samples. An existing water softener system of capacity 2 m3/hr from a Residential Apartment named M/s.Ozone Pavillion was selected with an existing scheme of Alum dosing system, Pressure sand filter, Activated Carbon filter and Softener. In this scheme the Alum dosing was replaced with Strychnos potatorum Linn seed extract dosing and the softener filter was bypassed. Two different water samples were selected (Bore Well Water and Surface Water) and jar test was performed with the Strychnos potatorum Linn extract to arrive the best suited dose for the turbidity reduction. Here the jar test performed with different concentration of Strychnos potatorum Linn extract starting from 20 mg/l to 60 mg/l and selected the concentration of 60 mg/l as the best suited dose for turbidity reduction. The selected concentration was used for a pilot plant study in the existing water treatment plant designed by M/s. Green Enviro Polestar. The study showed the turbidity removal efficiency of 40% to 60% and highly emphasizes the usage of Strychnos potatorum Linn seed extract as a natural coagulant in water treatment systems.