Aloe Vera in Water Treatment: Toward a Greener Future for Environmental Engineering

The use of natural solutions has gained increasing attention as a sustainable alternative for water treatment. In this study, an Aloe vera-based coagulant was evaluated through jar test experiments and a laboratory-scale hydraulic system consisting of an alternative flocculator (such as a helically coiled tube) followed by sedimentation and filtration processes. The jar test experiments demonstrated high turbidity removal efficiency, achieving final turbidity values of 5 NTU or lower under all the tested conditions, in accordance with international environmental regulations and standards. Moreover, in some conditions, turbidity was completely eliminated, highlighting the remarkable coagulation performance of Aloe vera. In the hydraulic system, the results indicated a significant turbidity reduction, with turbidity removal efficiencies of up to 97%, coagulation/flocculation times under 2 min, and sedimentation times of 60 min. However, the combined coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation processes were not sufficient to reduce the final turbidity to below 5 NTU, demonstrating the need for an additional rapid filtration step. The inclusion of this process further enhanced the particle removal, resulting in final turbidity values below 1 NTU, well within the regulatory limits. These results highlight the potential of the tested natural coagulant for application in water treatment systems, establishing it as a sustainable and cost-effective solution for water clarification, with promising prospects for large-scale implementation.