An eco-friendly flocculation treatment of wastewater treatment plant influent using natural anionic flocculants from Phyllanthus emblica and Moringa oleifera

Present study explores the efficacy of mucilage from Moringa oleifera pods and Phyllanthus emblica leaves as potential natural flocculants. Their flocculation ability was assessed at lab-scale using influent from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), focusing on the pollutant reduction efficiency. The presence of significant active components was confirmed through phytochemical screening, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR). Flocculants from M. oleifera and P. emblica achieved flocculation efficiency of 94.34 ± 3.55% and 90.04 ± 1.15% at 150 mg/L and 300 mg/L dosages, respectively. Significant reductions in chemical oxygen demand (76 and 73.2%), biological oxygen demand (72.4 and 70.1%), and total suspended solids (81.2 and 78.4%) were observed in WWTP influent with M. oleifera and P. emblica flocculant, respectively. Notably, this study also highlights the reduction in chloride ion concentrations by 58.3% (M. oleifera) and 55.7% (P. emblica). Kinetic models; pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion were established for COD reduction. The results suggest plant-based natural anionic flocculants as a potential sustainable alternative to chemical coagulants for WWTP influent treatment.