INTRODACTION

Water is the essence of life. It is a major constituent of all living matter, comprising up to
two-thirds of the human body. Next to air we breathe, water is mankind’s most important
substance. Access for water is a basic human right and critical determinant for life; while, the
quality of drinking-water is a powerful environmental determinant of health [1]. Water quality is
a measure of the condition of water in relation to the requirements for one or more purposes
Hard water is not a health hazard, but dealing with hard water causing spot and brightness
on cloth. Water that contains bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium
metal is hard in nature [1]. Hardness of a given water is a measure of the total Concentration of
Ca and Mg ions since dissolved calcium and magnesium are the two most common minerals that
make the water “hard”[1, 2]. Hardness in water is not caused by a single substance but also by a
variety of dissolved polyvalent metallic ions such as aluminum(Al3+), barium (Ba2+),
manganese (Mn2+ ), iron (Fe2+) and zinc (Zn2+) [5]. But these ions typically make up only a
very small fraction of total hardness [6]
Water hardness is the traditional measure of the capacity of water to react with soap, hard
water requiring considerably more soap to produce lather. Hard water often produces a
noticeable deposit of precipitate (e.g. insoluble metals, soaps or salts) in containers,”. The nature
of hardness varies from one place to another depending on geological location in which water
percolate on it. When ground water percolates through rocks containing limestone and dolomites,
the amount of hardness increases [2] .Hardness is divided into two main types, permanent
hardness and temporary hardness. Permanent hardness is caused by dissolved salts of chlorides
and sulphates of magnesium and calcium and temporary hardness is caused by dissolved salts of
carbonates /bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium [1].
The Hard water cause corrosion of pipes and the degree of the corrosion in pipes
depends on the factors such as, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen[1]. The presence of divalent
cations (Ca2+and Mg2+) in water, can react with soap anions and lower the cleaning efficiency
and leads to higher consumption of detergents due to formation of calcium stearate which is
insoluble. [3]
There were few scientific ways to measure the purity of water. Instead, ancient
civilizations relied on their senses to determine whether or not water was good. They would see
if it was clear, if it was odorless, and if it tasted good. If all three checked out, it was considered
pure water. Progress in the scientific understanding of water treatment kept pace with progress in
engineering. The first chemical treatment for softening hard water lime softening was invented
by the chemist Thomas Clark in the 1830s. The process consists of adding a solution of calcium
hydroxide (lime water). This process precipitates any calcium bicarbonate present in the water,
along with the added calcium and some of the magnesium, as hydroxides and silicates. The
precipitates settle or are filtered. Sodium carbonate (soda ash) can be added to remove the
permanent hardness. The other major discovery in the field of water softening was ion exchange.
The phenomenon was discovered very early in the 1850s by Harry Stephen Meysey Thompson
and John Thomas Way. The latest widely used technology to remove hardness from water is
reverse osmosis, in 1940 by the French physicist Jean Antoine Nollet. The phenomenon of
osmosis As solvent flows through a semi-permeable membrane from a low to a high
concentration of solute, a pressure head is created on the side of high solute concentration.
(Association of water technologies)
Dire Dawa water is hard which is above 780mg/L. Hardness above 300mg/L is very hard
water which can create different problems. Hard water has unpleasant taste, has on effect
toughening of skin and hair [4]. Have a bath with soap in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap
curd on the skin, But also skin washed with hard water can become itchy and dry. According to
TBS and WHO they have permissible ranges of hardness for drinking, but this ranges still creates
some problems in economics and in healthily. Calcium and magnesium are the major sources of
hard water. In Dire Dawa the water has higher levels of magnesium ions and calcium ions. This
paper concentrates on removal efficiency and assesses its effect on the treatment of hard water
from the natural coagulant Cactus.

Thus as a solution can be minimize to the problem that has been stated in the above by
using Cactus used as to reduce the , pH, TDS, heavy metals and make it more suitable and
safe to be consumed by the people. This treatment consists in the quick dispersion of the
coagulating agent in the water to be treated, followed by intense agitation, which is commonly
defined as quick mixing. In this paper, the potential removal efficiency of Cactus for hard
water treatment was evaluated, its limits analyzed, and the optimum use and dosage assessment
was evaluated.
 Statement of the problem
Nowadays characterizing and removing of the drinking water hardness become vital issues in
the sustainable management of water. Many countries including, Ethiopia, are now suffering
severe soft drinking water scarcities.
Analytical results of water hardness according to Dire Dawa and Sewerage Authority shows,
the water is hard and it create some problem in pipes. The complaint from customers includes
unpleasant taste of water, higher consumption of soap during domestic washing, reduced life
span of water meters, water taps, valves and pipes due to clogging, they feel also irritation of the
skin during bathing which results from accumulation of salt deposits therefore the need for their
removal before usage. Currently, there are various techniques that have been put in place to solve
the hardness problem. Ion exchange, electro-based techniques, and membrane filtration are
among the techniques having so far been applied. However, high costs in installation, operation
and maintenance hinder its mass application especially in third world countries like Ethiopia.
The aims of this project is to minimize the hardness of water using cactus powder as
coagulant. This natural coagulant will be expected not only develop material but also using
locally for removing of hardness components (calcium and magnesium) This will be expected
not only develop cheaper materials for hardness treatment but also use natural materials that are
locally available to provide a solution to the need for hardness treatments.

Objectives
General objective
 The objective of this study is to decrease water hardness using cactus as a coagulant.
Specific objectives
 To determine total hardness of water samples.
 To collect the cactus plant and prepared for the process
 To investigate the efficiency of cactus stem on removing hardness components(calcium
and magnesium ions)
 To check amount of moisture content of the cactus plant
 To optimize the conditions such as coagulants dose, pH and contact time for the
coagulation of hardness components by cactus materials.
 Determine the amount of TDS value for water sample.
 Will dry