EVALUATION OF DELONIX REGIA SEEDS AS A NATURAL COAGULANT IN THE TREATMENT OF LOW TURBID WATER
This research aims at evaluating the effectiveness of Delonix regia as a natural coagulant in treating low turbid water. The active ingredient of the coagulant was extracted using Soxhlet Apparatus with Hexane as the solvent. The water sample was obtained from the famous Ala river in Akure, Ondo state. The water from this river is oftentimes used by the residents without treatment because it appears clean to them, this river had a turbidity of 18.4NTU which is above the standard (5NTU) required by the World Health Organization (WHO) for safe usage. After treating with different doses (0.03g/L to 0.4g/L) of the coagulant, an optimum value of 6.12NTU at an optimum dose of 0.03g/L and a turbidity reduction of was obtained 66.74%, alongside an improvement in other water parameters such as Conductivity, dissolved oxygen and total dissolved solids. This result proves the effectiveness of Delonix regia as a natural coagulant in treating low turbid water. However, treatment with Delonix regia is not sufficient to improve the quality of low turbid water to WHO acceptable limits for potable water.