Resumen
Several natural coagulants have been studied for use in water treatment. The seed of Moringa oleifera Lam, for example, is a natural coagulant whose extract has been mentioned as effective not only for removing color, turbidity, and compounds with absorption at UV-254 nm, but also for significantly reducing the amount of sludge and bacteria in wastewaters. Therefore, the present study (1) evaluated the molecular weight of the extract of Moringa oleifera seed utilizing electrophoresis, and (2) compared the efficiency of different extracts obtained, using solutions of NaCl (0.01 M, 0.1 M and 1 M), distilled water, and Moringa oleifera Lam seed, acting as a natural coagulant in order to obtain drinking water. The tests were performed in Jar Test, and the effectiveness of the process was assessed regarding the removal of color, turbidity and UV-254 nm. It was observed that the molecular weight found in this study is consistent with literature data. Moreover, the highest removal efficiency of color, turbidity, and UV-254 nm occurred with 1M NaCl solution, with coagulant concentration between 100 and 300 mg L-1. The results obtained evidenced that the seed of Moringa oleifera Lam is a great alternative for use as a coagulant in drinking water treatment systems.