Coag-Flocculation Kinetics of <i>Mucuna sloanei</i> Seed for Phosphorus Removal from Waste Water

Abstract

Mucuna sloanei (MS) an environmentally friendly biomass was used as a coagulant for treatment of phosphorus containing waste water. The study evaluates the coag-flocculation efficiency of MS and its functional kinetic parameter response to varying pH and dosage of the waste water effluent. Coag-flocculation reaction order α , coag-flocculation rate constant K , and coagulation period τ 1/2 were determined. The maximum coag-flocculation performance (97.4%) is recorded at rate constant, K of 1.24 × 10 - 4 l/mg · min, dosage of 400 mg/l, pH of 8 and coagulation period τ 1/2 of 0.100 min while the minimum (61%) is recorded at K of 3 × 10 - 5 l/gm · min, dosage 100 mg/l, pH of 2 and τ 1/2 of 8.900 mins. The results confirm that MS coagulant is an effective coagulant obeying the theory of fast coagulation in the conditions of the experiments.