Biotechnological Assessment of the Efficiency of Medicinal Plant Extracts as Natural Bio-Flocculants in Sustainable Water Treatment

Abstract

This study investigates the feasibility of employing plant-derived biomaterials as sustainable and ecologically friendly alternatives to standard chemicals in wastewater treatment. It seeks to meet the rising need in this area for innovative environmental technology. The goal is to assess the efficacy of five medicinal plant extracts Moringa oleifera, clove, basil, neem, and ginger—in enhancing the quality of treated water. The study examines their efficiency in decreasing turbidity, lowering COD and BOD levels, removing heavy metals, and minimizing microbial contamination.In accordance with jar testing recommendations, coagulation and agglutination tests were conducted in a controlled laboratory setting. The effectiveness of the recommended plant-based substitutes was evaluated by directly comparing the outcomes with traditional therapy using aluminum sulfate (alum). Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the association between treatment parameters.The results demonstrated that treating wastewater with extracts from medicinal plants considerably enhanced its quality. Moringa oleifera demonstrated the greatest overall treatment performance, with 94.2% turbidity removal, 70.6% COD reduction, 66.2% BOD reduction, 79.6% Pb elimination, and 90.8% microbiological decrease. Syzygium aromaticum, on the other hand, demonstrated the highest microbial reduction efficacy (92.4%). Moringa oleifera demonstrated comparable effectiveness while improving environmental sustainability and biodegradability, despite alum's somewhat better physicochemical removal efficiency. A combination of charge neutralization, adsorption, particle bridging, biosorption, and antibacterial properties linked to bio-flocculants produced from medicinal plants were identified as responsible for the reported treatment efficiencies.The results indicate that bio-flocculants generated from medicinal plants are attractive substitutes for traditional chemical coagulants and have a great deal of potential for environmentally friendly wastewater treatment applications.