Integration of Iron Coagulant, Copperas and Calcium Hydroxide for Low-Cost Groundwater Treatment in Kelantan, Malaysia

Abstract

In Kelantan, more than 70 % of domestic water is supplied by groundwater sources. These water sources are commonly contaminated and do not meet the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standard and the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MMOH). This research's main objective is to study the performance of iron-based coagulants Ferrous Sulphate on its optimum dosage, formulation, and concentration. Series of jar tests are conducted by adding and comparing five different copperas solution concentrations from 15 % to 0.6 % into the 500 mL beaker. The prepared copperas solutions are combined with lime (calcium hydroxide), and the performance of with (copperas plus) and without lime are compared. The results obtained show that copperas plus has a far better performance compared to copperas solution. The copperas plus results comply with the drinking water standard for pH value (6.5-8.5) and turbidity (below 5 NTU). Copperas and turbidity removal efficiency are between 89% and 99%, while copperas has a lower range of turbidity removal efficiency, 72.9 % and 97.7 %. Most of the results obtained do not comply with the drinking water standard of iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) over 0.3 and 0.1 mg/L, respectively. However, the potential of copperas and copperas plus to treat domestic drinking water could be improvised by further studying its dosing effect on heavy metal content.