Abstract

This study was designed to investigate Prosopis africana peel powder (PAPP) as a potential, local, cost-effective, readily-available coagulant for remediating dye-contaminated water and compare it with activated charcoal (a standard coagulant).PAPP was prepared and characterized using standard procedures. Preliminary characterization of the malachite green (MG) contaminated water was carried out before and post- treatment with PAPP and activated charcoal, respectively, in terms of turbidity, pH, salinity, temperature, electrical conductivity, total solid (TS), total suspended solid (TSS) and total dissolved solid (TDS). The concentration of the MG adsorbed by both coagulants were determined and compared. Results showed that the percentage of MG removed increased proportionally with theconcentration of the coagulants. With PAPP, the pH of the solution was 4.67, the salinity and TSS were zero while TS and turbidity were only pronounced at higher concentrations; whereas with activated charcoal, the pH was 6.37, the turbidity, TSS, TS and salinity were zero but TDS and conductivity were concentration dependent. This study has shown that PAPP could be employed as a potential adsorbent in the treatment of MG contaminated water. A study is currently in progress to activate PAPP and compare its dye removal efficiency with activated charcoal.

Key words: Malachite green,  coagulant property, contaminated water, activated charcoal, Prosopis africana peel powder (PAPP).