Page Header Logo Applied Science and Engineering Progress

Home > ONLINE FIRST > Al-Hanaktah

Natural Coagulants Extracted from Leaf, Shell, and Kernel of Jatropha curcas for Turbidity Treatment

Amal Al-Hanaktah, Soraya Mercedes Pérez

Abstract


This research investigates the extraction of coagulants from the leaves, kernel shells, and kernels of Jatropha curcas, analyzing the effects of pH, temperature, and wastewater turbidity on coagulant activity. The coagulant extracts were obtained by mixing water with dried leaves, shells, and kernel samples in a proportion of 1:50. Turbidity removal was used as an indicator of coagulant activity. Coagulant activity was evaluated by applying different concentrations of the extracts (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6% v/v) to synthetic wastewater prepared at 770 NTU. The results showed maximum turbidity removal values of 81.2%, 76.6%, and 66.7%, identifying optimum dosages of 1, 0.5, and 4% v/v for the leaf, shell, and kernel extracts, respectively. These optimum dosages were subsequently applied to pharmaceutical wastewater, tap water, Dead Sea water, and groundwater samples. The turbidity removal results indicated that the extracts from all three fractions performed most effectively at pH 3, followed by notable turbidity reduction at pH 9. Increasing temperature further enhanced the coagulating activity of all extracts. Among the three, the Jatropha leaf extract exhibited the highest coagulant efficiency, except in the case of Dead Sea water, where its performance was limited due to high salinity. Overall, turbidity removal ranged between 80% and 90% in all water samples, except for the Dead Sea sample, where removal was 63%. This study concludes that the leaf fraction of Jatropha curcas possesses the highest coagulating power.

Keywords



[1]    T. Pullaiah and B. Bahadur, “Economic and medicinal importance of Jatropha,” in Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop, B. Bahadur, M. Sujatha, and N. Carels, Eds. New York: Springer, 2013.

[2]    T. M. I. Riayatsyah, A. H. Sebayang, A. S. Silitonga, Y. Padli, I. M. R Fattah, and F. Kusumo. “Current progress of J. Curcas commoditisation as biodiesel feedstock: A comprehensive review,” Frontiers in Energy Research, vol. 9, pp. 1–19, 2022, doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2021.815416.

[3]    Y. N. Lye, N. Salih, and J. Salimon, “Optimization of partial epoxidation on Jatropha Curcas oil-based methyl linoleate using urea-hydrogen peroxide and methyltrioxorhenium catalyst,” Applied Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 89–99, 2021, doi: 10.14416/j.asep.2020.12.006.

[4]    N. H. Arbain, J. Salimon, and N. Salih, “Optimization for epoxidation of malaysian Jatropha Curcas oil based trimethylolpropane ester bio lubricant,” Applied Science and Engineering Progress Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, 2022, Art. no. 5552, doi: 10.14416/j.asep. 2021.10.009.

[5]    Z. Z. Abidin, N.  Ismael, R. Yunus, I.  S. Ahamad, and A. Idris, “A preliminary study on Jatropha Curcas as coagulant in wastewater treatment,” Journal of Environmental Technology, vol. 32, no. 9, pp. 971–977, 2011, doi: 10.1080/095933 30.2010.521955.

[6]    S. Sibartie and N. Ismail, “Potential of Hibiscus Sabdariffa and Jatropha Curcas as natural coagulants in the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater,” in MATEC Web Conference, 2018, p. 152, doi: 10.1051/matecconf/201815201009.

[7]    S. M. Balpande and P. B. Nagarnaik,  “Performance of natural and chemical based coagulants used in water and wastewater treatment-A review,” International Journal of Civil Engineering, pp. 7248–7253, 2020, doi: 10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V4I3P109.

[8]    M. Kumar, B. Kavitha, and V. Saritha, “Chitin and Sago as coagulants for the optimization of process parameters focusing on coagulant dose and mixing speed,” Journal Watershed Ecology and the Environment, vol. 4, pp. 112–24, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.wsee.2022.10.001.

[9]    A. Soros, J. E. Amburgey, C. E. Stauber, M. D. Sobsey, and L. M. Casanova, “Turbidity reduction in drinking water by coagulation-flocculation with chitosan polymers,” Journal Water Health, vol. 17, no. 2,  pp. 204–218, 2019, doi: 10.2166/wh.2019.114.

[10] B. S. Nzeyimana, A. D. C. Mary, “Sustainable sewage water treatment based on natural plant coagulant: Moringa oleifera,” Discover Water Journal, vol. 4, p. 15, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s43832- 024-00069-x.

[11] H. Hendrawati, I. R. Yuliastri Nurhasni, E. Rohaeti, H. Effendi, and L. K. Darusman, “The use of Moringa Oleifera Seed Powder as coagulant to improve the quality of wastewater and ground water,” IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1, p.  31, 2016, Art. no. 012033, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/31/1/ 012033.

[12] S. B. Kurniawan et al., “Performance of chemical-based vs bio-based coagulants in treating aquaculture wastewater and cost-benefit analysis,” The Polish  Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 32, no. 2,  pp. 1177–1187, 2023, doi: 10.15244/ pjoes/156419.

[13] J. Kang and J. Trevino, “Evaluating moringa oleifera, papaya, and pumpkin seed as a natural coagulant,” International Journal of Life Sciences Research, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 126–131, 2012.

[14] B. Ramavandi, “Treatment of water turbidity and bacteria by using a coagulant extracted from Plantago ovata,” Water Resources and Industry Journal, vol. 6, pp. 36–50, 2014, doi: 10.1016/ j.wri.2014.07.001.

[15] A. K. Salem, A. F. Almansoory, I. A. Al-Baldawi, “Potential plant leaves as sustainable green coagulant for turbidity removal,” Journal Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 5, 2023, Art. no. e16278,  doi : 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16278.

[16] Y. Jadhav, S. Dubey, H. Gawad, B. Pandey, B. J. Godboley “Feasibility study of natural coagulants for drinking water,” International Journal of Innovations in Engineering and Science, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 16–20, 2021, doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/2070/1/012186.

[17]  A. Stoenescu, I. Trandafir, and S. Cosmulescu, “Determination of phenolic compounds using HPLC-UV method in wild fruit species,” Journal Horticulturae, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 84, 2022, doi: 10.3390/horticulturae8020084.

[18] W. Xu, C.  Zhong, C.  Zou, B.  Wang, and N.  Zhang, “Analytical methods for amino acid determination in organism,” Journal Amino Acids, vol. 5, pp. 1071–1088, 2020, doi: 10.1007/ s00726-020-02884-7

[19]  J. V. Changade, A. Shete, A. Thomas, and R.  Nanda, “Identification of phorbol ester and its degradation by traditional purification method in the root of Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) Muell. Arg,” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, vol. 58, no. 2, p. 42, 2024, doi: 10.5530/ijper.58.2s.41.

[20]  N. Chaichana, “Nutrition composition and analysis of medicinal herbal potential of Horsfieldia Glabra Warb. seeds,” Applied Science and Engineering Progress Journal, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 61–69, 2016, doi: 10.14416/j.ijast. 2015.12.001.

[21]  K. Khoshnevisan and M. Barkhi, “Zeta Potential.” researchgate.net. http://www.researchgate.net/ publication/275834023_Zeta_potential (accessed Jun. 20, 2025).

[22] N. Gámez-Meza, P. P Alday-Lara, H. P.  Makkar, K. Becker and L. A. Medina-Juárez, “Chemical characterisation of kernels, kernel meals and oils from Jatropha Cordata and Jatropha Cardiophylla seeds,” Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, vol. 93, no. 7, pp. 1706–1710, 2013, doi: 10.1002/jsfa.5955.

[23]  N. S. Tomar, M. Sharma, and R. M. Agarwal, “Phytochemical analysis of Jatropha Curcas L. during different seasons and developmental stages and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) as affected by extracts/leachates of Jatropha Curcas L,” Journal Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 83–92, 2015,  doi: 10.1007/s12298-014-0272-0.

[24] H. P. S. Makkar, A. Aderibigbe, and K. Becker, “Comparative evaluation of non-toxic and toxic varieties of Jatropha Curcas for chemical composition, digestibility, protein degradability and toxic factors,” Journal of Food Chemistry, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 207–215, 1998, doi: 10.1016/S0308-8146(97)00183-0.

[25] R. M. Rodríguez-Calle, J. Suárez-Hernández, J. M. Iglesias-Gómez, and G. Rodríguez-Licea, “Chemical characterization of the fruit shell of Jatropha Curcas,” Journal Terra Latinoamericana, vol. 40, pp. 1–8, 2022, Art. no. e958, doi: 10.28940/terra.v40i0.958.

[26]  A. R. Farouk, “Removal of water turbidity using different coagulants,” Journal Zankoy Sulaimani – Part A, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 115–126, 2017, doi: 10.17656/jzs.10617.

[27] A. Benalia, K. Derbal, Z. Amrouci, O. Baatache, A. Khalfaoui, and A. Pizzi, “Application of plant-based coagulants and their mechanisms in water treatment: A review,” Journal Renewable Materials, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1–10, 2024, doi: 10.32604/jrm.2024.048306.

[28] A. Patchaiyappan and S. P. Devipriya, “Application of plant-based natural coagulants in water treatment,” in Advances in Environmental Pollution Research. Amsterdam, Netherlads:  Elsevier, 2021, pp. 51–58, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-822933-0.00012-76.

[29]  A. H. Alpandi, H. Husin, A. Sidek, and M. Abdurrahman, “Characterization of malaysian Jatropha seed oil and discovering the process of powdered jatropha leaves,” Journal Processes, vol. 10, no. 12, p. 2577, 2022, doi: 10.3390/ pr10122577.

[30]  V. Minkin, A. O. Osipov, and A. Y. Zhdanov, “Dipole moments and the stereochemistry of organic compounds,” in Dipole Moments in Organic Chemistry, vol. 1, V. Minkin, A. Osip Osipov, A. Y. Zhdanov, and E. Vaughan, Eds. New York: Plenum, 1970, pp. 127–190.

[31] R. K. Devappa, H. P. S. Makkar, and K. Becker, “Jatropha toxicity: A review,” Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 476–507, 2010.

[32] J. A. C. Barbosa, M. S. E. Abdelsadig, B. R. Conway, and H. A. Merchant, “Using zeta potential to study the ionisation behaviour of polymers employed in modified-release dosage forms and estimating their pKa,” International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, Art. no. 100024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijpx.2019. 100024. 

[33] A. E Ugbogu, E. I. Akubugwo, F. O. Uhegbu, C. G. Chinyere, O. C. Ugbogu, and K. A. Oduse, “Quality assessment profile of Jatropha Curcas (L) seed oil from Nigeria,” International Food Research Journal, vol. 21, no. 2, pp.735–741, 2014.

[34]  H. N. P. Dayarathne, M. J. Angove, S. Jeong, R. Aryal, S. R. Paudel, and B. Mainali, “Effect of temperature on turbidity removal by coagulation: sludge recirculation for rapid settling,” Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 46, pp. 1–9, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.102559.

[35] A. Emil, Z. Yaakob, M. N. S. Kumar, J. M. Jahim, and J. Salimon, “Comparative evaluation of physicochemical properties of Jatropha seed oil from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand,” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, vol. 87, no. 6, pp. 689–695, 2010, doi: 10.1007/s11746-009-1537-6.

[36] A. Daverey, N. Tiwari, and K. Dutta, “Utilization of extracts of Musa paradisica (banana) peels and Dolichos lab. (Indian bean) seeds as low-cost natural coagulants for turbidity removal from water,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 26, no. 33, p. 83, 2019, Art. no. 34177,  doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-3850-9.

[37] V. Govindaraj, M. Govindarajan, and K. Manoharan, “Cost-effective treatment for polluted groundwater using eco-friendly bio-coagulants.” researchgate.net. http://www.researchgate.net/ publication/359302746_Cost-Effective_Treatment_for_Polluted_Groundwater_Using_Eco-Friendly_Bio-Coagulants (accessed Apr. 05, 2025).

[38] E. Ernest, O. Onyeka, N. David, and O. Blessing, “Effects of pH, dosage, temperature and mixing speed on the efficiency of watermelon seed in removing the turbidity and colour of Atabong River, Awka-Ibom State, Nigeria,” International Journal of Advanced Engineering, Management and Science, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 427–434, 2017,  doi: 10.24001/ijaems.3.5.4.

[39] B. U. Okoro, S. Sharifi, M. A. Jesson, and J. Bridgeman, “Natural organic matter (NOM) and turbidity removal by plant-based coagulants: A review,” Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 9, no. 6, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j. jece.2021.106588.

[40] J. M. Younker and M. E. Walsh, “Impact of salinity on coagulation and dissolved air flotation treatment for oil and gas produced water,“ Quality  Research Journal Canada, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 135–143, 2014, doi: 10.2166/wqrjc.2013.118.

[41] D. Lestari, W. J. Mulder, J. P. M. Sanders, “Jatropha seed protein functional properties for technical applications,” Biobased Chemistry and Technology,  vol. 53, no. 3,  pp. 297–304, 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.bej.2010.12.003.

[42] I. Pereira et al., “Differentiation of toxic and non-toxic leaves of Jatropha curcas L. genotypes by leaf spray mass spectrometry,” Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, vol. 28, no. 08, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.21577/0103-5053.20160325.

[43]  A. L. Wasa, O. J. Mdee, J. W. Ntalikwa, and J. W. N. N. Sadiki, ” Performance analysis of plant-based coagulants in water purification: A review,” Journal Discover Water, vol. 4, pp. 108, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s43832-024-00171-0.

Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2025.08.003

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2025 by King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. All rights reserved.