Optimization of Moringa oleifera-based coagulant in textile wastewater treatment

The effectiveness of Moringa oleifera (MO) in the treatment of textile wastewater has been extensively studied and reported. Nevertheless, an important gap remains in studying the operational conditions for improving the wastewater treatment process. This study examined and optimized the removal efficiency of dye (Direct Red 23), total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the textile wastewater under varying conditions of pH (5–7), MO dosage (5–35 g/L), and settling time (30–90 min) employing the response surface methodology (RSM) analysis. The results showed that the optimum of MO dosage for dye and TSS removals was 25 g/L. The maximum reduction of dye, TSS, COD, and BOD was around 89%, 73%, 29%, and 16%, respectively. In addition, the RSM results revealed that the best performance of the MO dosage ranged from 20 to 25 g/L with 60–90 min settling time. The study concluded that the use of MO seeds as a natural coagulant was proved highly effective in removing dye and impurities from the textile wastewater.