A preliminary study of banana stem juice as a plant-based coagulant for treatment of spent coolant wastewater

Abstract

The effectiveness of banana stem juice as a natural coagulant for treatment of spent coolant wastewater was investigated. Three main parameters were studied, namely, chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SSs), and turbidity of effluent. Coagulation experiments using jar test were performed with a flocculation system where the effects of spent coolant wastewater pH as well as banana stem juice dosage on coagulation effectiveness were examined. The highest recorded COD, SS, and turbidity removal percentages by banana stem juice were 80.1%, 88.6%, and 98.5%, respectively, observed for effluent at pH 7 using 90 mL dosage. The inulin concentration in the banana stem was examined to be 1.22016 mg/mL. It could be concluded that banana stem juice showed tremendous potential as a natural coagulant for water treatment purposes and could be applied in the pretreatment stage of Malaysian spent coolant wastewater prior to secondary treatment. © 2013 Habsah Alwi et al.