OPTIMIZATION STUDIES OF TURBIDITY REMOVAL IN ASA RIVER WATER USING CARICA PAPAYA SEED AS COAGULANT

Abstract

This study evaluated the potential of Carica papaya Seed (CPS) as a coagulant for water treatment. Surface water samples from Asa River in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria were collected for the study. The trace metal levels were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP- MS). Treated CPS was obtained from its seed using soxhlet extraction in ethanol .It was then applied for the removal of turbidity and trace metals in the surface water samples. The trace metal results showed the presence of Cu (6.07 ppb), Fe (394.16 ppb), Cr(21.50 ppm), Zn (6.69 ppb) and Ti (13.08 ppb) in the samples of the river water. Optimization studies was carried out for turbidity removal using Full Central Composite Design (FCCD) under the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results obtained showed that the maximum turbidity removal of 94.92% was achieved at optimum conditions; coagulant dose (0.47 g), contact time (15.17 min) and agitation speed (791.33 rpm). Also, all the trace metals were found to be below detection limit after contacting with the modified Carica papaya seed.