Potential of Champereia manillana Shoots Extract as Coagulant for Drinking Water Treatment

The usage of alum-based coagulant in drinking water treatment process caused residues in completed drinking water treatment, which eventually supplied to consumers. This poses possible risk to their health. Furthermore, alum-based coagulant is expensive. Due to the risk and cost of using alum-based coagulant, natural coagulants which are environmental friendly, safe and cost effective, are needed. A plant-derived coagulant was successfully extracted from Champereia manillana by using physical extraction method. This study was intended to explore the effectiveness and optimum dosages of C. manillana needed for turbidity and heavy metals removal in surface water sources. Flavonoids and tannin are coagulating agent which are naturally present in C. manillana shoots and they are responsible for turbidity and heavy metals removal in water. Three types of heavy metals and three level of turbidity were chosen for this study. The experiment was performed with crude extracts of C. manillana with different dosage. Results demonstrated that the best and optimum turbidity removal is observed in low and moderate turbid water sample (5 – 50 NTU) up to 62.9 % at 2.0 mg/L of extract C. manillana shoots. However, there were no significant removal in Cuprum, Ferum and Manganese. It could be concluded that, C. manillana shoot extract has the ability to remove suspended solid in water, hence it has a great potential to replace chemical coagulant in drinking water treatment. Furthermore, C. manillana. shoots extract is much cheaper as compared to chemicals coagulant. Usually people do not have the option to use water provided by the Government treated with chemicals that are harmful to health. With the use of water that has been treated with these chemicals will cause them vulnerable to many diseases and at the same time they have to spend hundreds or even thousands of ringgit a month for health care for their families. But with this discovery, people can treat water for their own use by using the resources that are around them, in a way that C. manillana shoots will be dried and pounded until fine and pour into a bucket of water, then stir it and leave for about half an hour or until it is settle down to the bottom of the bucket and the water is safe to use. This way they no longer have to spend money for health care as a result of use water treated with chemicals by substituting them with natural material and thus the C. manillana shoots may indirectly reduce poverty among the mainly rural society.