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Effects of Oil Extraction from

Moringa Oleifera Seeds On
Coagulation Of Turbid Water
a
Suleyman Aremu Muyibi , Megat Johari Megat
b b b
Mohd. Noor , Tan Kok Leong & Lam Hong Loon
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Putra, Serdang Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Malaysia, 43400 E-mail:
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Putra, Serdang Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Malaysia, 43400
Published online: 17 Sep 2010.

To cite this article: Suleyman Aremu Muyibi , Megat Johari Megat Mohd. Noor , Tan
Kok Leong & Lam Hong Loon (2002): Effects of Oil Extraction from Moringa Oleifera
Seeds On Coagulation Of Turbid Water, International Journal of Environmental Studies,
59:2, 243-254

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 Environ. Studies, 2002, Vol. 59(2), pp. 243–254

EFFECTS OF OIL EXTRACTION FROM

MORINGA OLEIFERA SEEDS ON
COAGULATION OF TURBID WATER
Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 10:19 15 June 2013

SULEYMAN AREMU MUYIBI*, MEGAT JOHARI MEGAT

MOHD. NOOR, TAN KOK LEONG and LAM HONG LOON
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra,
Malaysia 43400, Serdang Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

(Received in final form 26 March 2001)

In this study the results of laboratory based investigation into the effects of extracting oil
from Moringa oleifera on its coagulation effectiveness using turbid water samples from
two rivers are presented. Samples of raw water were taken from Sungai Selangor Water
Treatment Plant at Batang Berjuntai and Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The turbidities of the water samples from the two sources
varied from 56 to 451 NTU. For water sample with initial turbidity of 451 NTU,
shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera was able to achieve 98% turbidity removal at an
optimum dosage of 200 mg=l compared to 96.9% obtained at optimum dosage of
300 mg=l using the shelled blended. For the low turbidity of 56 NTU, shelled oil
extracted Moringa oleifera achieved 87% turbidity removal at 250 mg=L optimum
dosage whilst shelled blended was able to achieve 81%. The oil extracted from the
Moringa kernel was up to 35% per kernel weight.

Keywords: Moringa oleifera; Oil extraction; Shelled; Coagulation; Surface water;

Turbidity removal

INTRODUCTION

Procurement of chemicals for treatment of turbid water in developing

countries is becoming more and more difficult due to high cost of

*Corresponding author. E-mail: engrmuyibi@yahoo.com or sulamu@eng.upm.

edu.my
ISSN 0020-7233 print; ISSN 1029-0400 online # 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080=00207230290015522
 244 S.A. MUYIBI et al.

importation with scarce convertible foreign currency, the general

economic downturn worldwide and dwindling revenue base of
Water Treatment Companies. The use of Moringa oleifera seed would
be a viable replacement and=or supplement to these chemicals. Mor-
inga oleifera belongs to the family Moringaceae and is cultivated for a
variety of purposes across the whole tropical belt [1]. Many researchers
have reported on its various uses as coagulant [2–4]. Previous studies
have focused mainly on the efficiency of Moringa oleifera seed extract
as a coagulant [5,6]. Some have focused on the physical factors af-
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fecting the use of Moringa oleifera seeds in the coagulation of model

turbid water [7]. Other studies have focused on quality of water treated
by coagulation using two forms of the seed (shelled and unshelled)
using the water extract with model turbid water as the water source [8].
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of ex-
tracting oil from Moringa oleifera on its coagulation effectiveness
using turbid water from surface water as the raw water source.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Turbid Water Samples

Samples of raw water were taken from the raw water inlet taps at
Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plant at Batang Berjuntai, about
100 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur and Sungai Semenyih Water
Treatment Plant in Kuala Lumpur once every two weeks between
November 1998 and February 1999 (Tabs. I–II).

TABLE I Surface water characteristics for Sungai Semenyih,

at raw water tap Puncak Niaga Water Treatment Works,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (November 1998–February 1999)

Raw water Total alkalinity Total hardness

turbidity pH (mg=l) (mg=l as CaCO3)

451 6.2 20 20
299 6.4 14 14
147 6.4 14 18
104 6.3 16 16
63 6.4 16 20
56 6.7 14 18
 MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED IN COAGULATION 245

TABLE II Surface water characteristics for Sungai Selangor,

at raw water tap Puncak Niaga Water Treatment Works, Ba-
tang Berjuntai, Malaysia (November 1998–February 1999)

Raw water Total alkalinity Total hardness

turbidity pH (mg=l) (mg=l as CaCO3)

321 6.1 12 19
288 6.8 16 14
140 6.7 12 20
114 6.3 12 16
78 6.5 14 18
66 6.7 14 18
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Moringa Oleifera Seeds

The dry Moringa oleifera seeds used in the studies were obtained from
gardeners in Serdang Selangor, Malaysia.

Equipment
A six place jar test apparatus, Jar-Tester CZ15O was used for co-
agulation-flocculation-sedimentation experiments. National model
MJ-C85N Juicer-blender with dry mill was used for the preparation of
Moringa oleifera into powder and solution for use. Soxhlet apparatus
was used to extract oil from Moringa oleifera seeds. Other equipment
used includes turbidimeter, Hach Turbidimeter model 2100AN, and
pH meter Hanna model HI 8521.

Procedure for the Preparation of Moringa Oleifera Seeds

The seed wings and coat were removed from selected dry good quality
Moringa oleifera seeds and the nuts ground to a fine powder using the
National MJ-85CN. The ground powder was divided into two por-
tions. One portion had the oil extracted (shelled blended oil extracted)
using the Soxhlet apparatus was used to prepare the first stock solu-
tion whilst the other portion (shelled blended) was used to prepare the
second stock solution.
Stock solution of the seed powder, shelled blended and shelled blen-
ded oil extracted were prepared by dissolving 5 g of each type in 200 ml
tap water and mixing it thoroughly at high speed in the National blender
for one minute to extract the active ingredients. Any insoluble powder
 246 S.A. MUYIBI et al.

was filtered out using a muslin cloth and the filtrate made up to 1000 ml
to give a concentrated stock solution of 5000 mg=L.

EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

Coagulation Studies

Water samples were collected using 20 L plastic Jerry cans from raw
water inlet taps at Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant in Kuala
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Lumpur and Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plant in Batang

Berjuntai (about 100 km from Kuala Lumpur) all in Selangor State,
Malaysia once every two weeks between November 1998 and
February 1999. The two plants are managed by Puncak Niaga
(Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Selected water quality parameters viz, turbidity,
pH, Alkalinity and total hardness using Standard Methods [9] of each
raw sample collected were determined.
Coagulation was carried out by using the operating parameters in
Table III [10]. The dosage range of Moringa oleifera solution used was
50 to 300 mg=l.
500 ml of each water sample was put in six 600-ml capacity beakers
and placed under the Jar Tester and the six paddles inserted in the
beakers. The Jar Tester was switched on and the speed set depending
on the initial turbidity of the raw water as shown in Table III. From
the stock solution of Moringa oleifera dosages of 50 to 300 mg=l in
multiples of 50 mg=l added simultaneously to the raw water in the
beakers and stirred (rapid mixing) for 4 min. The speed of mixing was
then reduced to 20 rpm (for turbidity <100 NTU) for 20 min and
40 rpm (for turbidity >100 NTU) for 25 min.
A settling time of 30 min was allowed after which the residual turbidity
as well as other water quality parameters like pH, total alkalinity, and
total hardness were measured using Standard Methods [9].

TABLE III Speed and time of mixing for rapid and slow mixing used
in coagulation studies [10]

Initial turbidity (NTU) Rapid mixing (rpm) Slow mixing (rpm)

Below 100 125 for 4 min 20 rpm for 20 min

Above 100 125 for 4 min 40 rpm for 25 min
 MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED IN COAGULATION 247

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Raw Water Characteristics

Tabs I and II respectively show the water quality parameters of water

samples raw water used in the studies. The pH, total alkalinity, and
total hardness for the two raw water samples were almost the same
and in general slightly low (soft water). The pH varied from 6.2 to 6.7
implying slight acidity with alkalinity varying from 14 to 20 mg=l for
Sungai Semenyih water sample and 12 to 16 mg=l for Sungai Selangor
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water samples. The total hardness for water samples for the two
sources were almost the same and very low varying from 14 to 20 mg=l
as CaCO3.
The raw water turbidity for Sungai Semenyih varied from 56 to 451
NTU whilst that of Sungai Selangor varied from 66 to 321 NTU, all
moderate to high values respectively.

Coagulation Studies
Sungai Semenyih Water Samples
The results of coagulation-sedimentation studies on the water sam-
ples are shown graphically in Figures 1 and 2 for Sungai Semenyih
and Figures 3 and 4 for Sungai Selangor respectively. In Figure 1
water samples from Sungai Semenyih with initial turbidities that
varied from a lowest of 56.4 NTU to a highest value of 451 NTU.
Shelled blended Moringa oleifera applied at dosages of 50 to
300 mg=l to water with initial turbidity of 56.4 NTU gave a residual
turbidity of 10.9 NTU which corresponds to 80.7% turbidity re-
moval at economic dosage of 250 mg=l. For water with initial tur-
bidity of 451 NTU a residual turbidity of 14.2 NTU corresponding
to 96.9% turbidity removal at economic dosage of 300 mg=l was
obtained. From Figure 2 it was observed that shelled oil extracted
Moringa oleifera gave a residual turbidity of 7.5 NTU that is 87%
turbidity removal at economic dosage of 250 mg=l and 9.0 NTU
corresponding to 98% turbidity removal at economic dosage of
200 mg=l respectively for initial turbidities of 56.4 NTU and 451
NTU.
 Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 10:19 15 June 2013

248
S.A. MUYIBI et al.

FIGURE 1 Coagulation of raw water from Sungai Semenyih, inlet tap at Puncak Niaga water treatment works, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
(November 1998–February 1999) using shelled blended Moringa oleifera seed extract.
 Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 10:19 15 June 2013

MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED IN COAGULATION

FIGURE 2 Coagulation of raw water from Sungai Semenyih, inlet tap at Puncak Niaga water treatment works, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
(November 1998–February 1999) using shelled blended oil extracted Moringa oleifera seed.
249
 Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 10:19 15 June 2013

250
S.A. MUYIBI et al.

FIGURE 3 Coagulation of raw water from Sungai Selangor, inlet tap at Puncak Niaga water treatment works, Batang Berjuntai, Malaysia
(November 1998–February 1999) using shelled blended Moringa oleifera seed extract.
 MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED IN COAGULATION 251

Sungai Selangor Raw Water Samples

The initial turbidities of raw water from Sungai Selangor during the
study period varied from 65.8 NTU to 321 NTU. From Figure 3 for
water with initial turbidity of 321 NTU application of varying dosages of
shelled blended Moringa oleifera gave a residual turbidity of 9.9 NTU
which corresponds to 96.9% turbidity removal at the economic dosage
of 250 mg=l whilst the shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera out per-
formed the shelled blended Moringa oleifera with a residual turbidity of
6.6 NTU, that is 97.9% turbidity removal. Similarly in Figure 4 for the
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water sample with the lowest initial turbidity of 65.8 NTU, shelled
blended Moringa oleifera at economic dosage of 250 mg=l gave a residual
turbidity of 6.3 NTU equivalent 90.4% turbidity removal whilst at
economic dosage of 200 mg=l shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera gave
a residual turbidity of 5.9 NTU which corresponds to 91% turbidity
removal. The percentage difference in the performance of shelled blen-
ded and shelled blended is not high (only 0.6%) but the dosage difference
of 50 mg=l will be quite significant in practice. Furthermore this will
imply less sludge produced and therefore a potential reduction in cost of
sludge treatment and disposal. Moringa oleifera is known to be a short
chain cationic polyelectrolyte so turbidity removal will therefore be
mainly through electrostatic patch mechanism [11] which is a surface
phenomena. The electrostatic patch mechanism depends mostly on
surface contact of charges between Moringa oleifera and turbidity par-
ticles. It may therefore be postulated that the oil content in the seed will
form an emulsion or film coating which may inhibit the contact with the
surface of reaction and thus reduce floc formation. Extraction of the oil
may therefore enhance the turbidity removal resulting in better coagu-
lation and flocculation. Furthermore as a short chain polyelectrolyte,
Moringa oleifera will not be an efficient primary coagulant for low tur-
bidity waters [1,2,5–7]. In this study however, Moringa oleifera was able
to coagulate low turbidity water (56 and 66 NTU initial turbidity)
achieving up to 90 and 98% removal respectively. The reason for this
observation is not well understood and would be investigated further in
the future.
In general therefore shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera has been
found to be more efficient than shelled blended in the coagulation of
turbid water samples from Sungai Semenyih and Sungai Selangor used
 252 S.A. MUYIBI et al.

in this study. The findings in this study are very important because the
oil extracted which is about 35% has a potential to being exploited for
use as edible vegetable oil, for soap making and in the perfume in-
dustry [12,13] as well. The fast growing high yielding Moringa oleifera
can yield an average of 3 tonnes seed per hectare as against an average
of 2 tonnes of sunflower and 0.5 tonnes for groundnut, respectively
[14]. Moringa oleifera seeds would therefore be a good supplement to
other oil seed crops.
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SUMMARY OF RESULTS

1. For Sungai Semenyih water samples at high initial turbidity of 451

NTU, shelled blended Moringa oleifera gave a residual turbidity of
4.2 NTU (96.9% turbidity removal) whilst shelled oil extracted
Moringa oleifera gave a residual turbidity of 9 NTU (98% turbidity
removal) at economic dosage of 250 mg=l. At low turbidity of 56
NTU, a residual turbidity of 10.9 NTU (80.7% turbidity removal) at
economic dosage of 250 mg=l was obtained using shelled Moringa
oleifera. Shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera gave a residual tur-
bidity of 7.5 NTU (87% turbidity removal) at economic dosage of
250 mg=l and 9.0 NTU (98% turbidity removal) at economic dosage
of 200 mg=l, respectively, for initial turbidities of 56.4 NTU and 451
NTU, respectively.
2. For Sungai Selangor raw water samples with initial turbidity of
321 NTU application of shelled blended Moringa oleifera gave a
residual turbidity of 9.9 NTU (96.9%) at the economic dosage of
250 mg=l, whilst the shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera out
performed it by achieving a residual turbidity of 6.6 NTU (97.9%
turbidity removal.). For water with initial turbidity of 65.8 NTU,
shelled blended Moringa oleifera at optimum dosage of 250 mg=l
gave a residual turbidity of 6.3 NTU (90.4% turbidity removal),
whilst at economic dosage of 200 mg=l shelled oil extracted Mor-
inga oleifera gave a residual turbidity of 5.9 NTU (91% turbidity
removal).
3. In this study, shelled oil extracted Moringa oleifera has been found
to be more effective than the shelled blended seeds as a primary
coagulant for turbid water.
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MORINGA OLEIFERA SEED IN COAGULATION

FIGURE 4 Coagulation of raw water from Sungai Selangor, inlet tap at Puncak Niaga water treatment works, Batang Berjuntai, Malaysia
253

(November 1998–February 1999) using shelled blended oil extracted Moringa oleifera seed.
 254 S.A. MUYIBI et al.

Acknowledgement

Funding for this research was kindly provided by the Malaysian

Ministry of Science Technology and Environment through the ‘‘In-
tensification of Research in Priority Areas (IRPA) project no. 09-02-
04-0089 under cycle 2 & 3 1998=99’’.

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