A Comparative Analysis of The Effectiveness of Plantain Peels and Papaya Seeds for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of plantain peels and papaya seeds used as natural coagulants on the physicochemical properties of wastewater obtained from the oxidation pond at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Water quality parameters; Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), turbidity, alkalinity, total solid (TS), total suspended solid (TSS) and pH were determined for raw wastewater. Prepared coagulants of 25 ml concentration (1%, 2% and 3%) of plantain peels and papaya seeds were added to 500 ml of wastewater and the mixture stirred rapidly for 60 seconds and then slowly for two minutes. The treated wastewater samples were then allowed to settle for 24 hours before rechecking the wastewater parameters. Comparing the results and taking the concentration of 5000 mg/L as the most effective for both coagulants, all the results are within the WHO standard except for BOD result which can be said to require higher concentration or dosage of coagulant for significant removal. Papaya seed coagulants was observed to be more effective in the reduction of TSS (95.7%), turbidity (77.8%), BOD (33.3%), alkalinity (25%) and COD (62.3%) while plantain peel coagulant proved to be more effective in the reduction of TS (76%), turbidity (77.8%) and pH (40.4%). Based on these results, papaya seeds observed to be more effective in the treatment of wastewater.