Bioremediation of heavily polluted Bagmati River water in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, using Moringa oleifera seed extract

Abstract

The precious Bagmati River water is deteriorating continuously due to the loading of effluents from different sources. The water quality of the Bagmati River water was determined by collecting water samples from Pashupati (B-1) and Balkhu (B-2) sites of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu Valley. The observed water quality parameters indicated that the Bagmati River is extremely polluted, and pollution was more pronounced downstream after the confluence of its tributaries. The total coliform count was extremely high, and bacteria levels exceeded the limit of counting, indicating fecal pollution from domestic influents. After treatment with indigenous Moringa oleifera (MO) seed extract, the black-colored water became clear. Most probable number and spread plate count of coliform progressively decreased with increasing concentrations of MO seed extract. The hardness, turbidity, iron, and chromium concentrations were reduced to below the World Health Organization standard after treatment with 100 mg/L MO and citric acid-treated seed extracts. The results suggest that the treated and untreated MO seed extracts could be a good natural coagulant for polluted river water treatment to reduce physicochemical and microbial pollutants.

Keywords

Coagulant / Chromium / Iron / Moringa oleifera / Water pollution

Funding

This research was partially supported by the University Grants Commission, Nepal, through the Collaborative Research Grants (CRG-79/80-S and T-01).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interest.

References

[1] Biswas AK, Tortajada C. Water quality management: A globally neglected issue. Int J Water Resour. 2019; 35(6):913-916. doi: 10.1080/07900627.2019.1670506

[2] Aryal KK, Joshi HD, Dhimal M, et al. Environmental burden of diarrhoeal diseases due to unsafe water supply and poor sanitation coverage in Nepal. J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2012; 10:125.

[3] Karki TK. Perspectives on the health of populations in Nepal. In: GaleaS, VlahovD,editors. Handbook of Urban Health: Populations, Methods, and Practice. Boston, MA, USA: Springer; 2005. p. 223.

[4] Adhikari MP, Rawal NB, Adhikari NB. Real-Time fine-scale measurement of water quality parameters along the Bagmati River in the Kathmandu Valley. Nat Environ Pollut Technol. 2021; 20:1047.

[5] Ndabigengesere A, Narasiah KS. Quality of water treated by bio-coagulation using Moringa oleifera seeds. Water Res. 1998; 32(3):781-791. doi: 10.1016/S0043-1354(97)00295-9

[6] Dermirbas A. Heavy metal adsorption onto agro-based waste materials: A review. J Hazard Mater. 2008; 157:220-229. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.01.024

[7] Adeniran KA, Akpenpuun TD, Akinyemi BA, Wasiu RA. Effectiveness of Moringa oleifera seed as a coagulant in domestic wastewater treatment. Afr J Sci Tech. 2017; 2(5):125. doi: 10.1080/20421338.2017.1327475

[8] Lea M. Bioremediation of turbid surface water using seed extract from Moringa oleifera lam (drumstick) tree. Curr Protoc Microbiol. 2010;16:1G.2.1. doi: 10.1002/9780471729259.mc01g02s16

[9] Mangale SM, Chonde SG, Jadhav AS, Raut PS. Study of Moringa oleifera (drumstick) seed as natural absorbent and antimicrobial agent for river water treatment. J Nat Prod Plant Resour. 2012; 2(1):89.

[10] Iqbal S, Bhanger MI. Effect of season, and production location on antioxidantactivity of Moringa oleifera leaves grown in Pakistan. J Food Comp Anal. 2006; 19:544.

[11] Muluvi GM, Sprent JI, Soranzo N, et al. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of genetic variation in M. oleifera Lam. J Mol Ecol. 1999; 8:463. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.1999.00589.x

[12] Araújo CST, Carvalho DC, Rezende HC, et al. Bioremediation of Water Contaminated with Heavy Metals Using Moringa oleifera Seeds as Biosorbent. London: Intech Open; 2013. p. 249. doi: 10.5772/56157

[13] Dandesa B, Akuma DA, Alemayehu E. Water purification improvement using Moringa oleifera seed extract pastes for coagulation follow scoria filtration. Heliyon. 2023; 9:e17420. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17420

[14] Onyuka JHO, Kakai R, Arama PF, Ofulla AVO. Comparison of antimicrobial activities of brine salting, chlorinated solution, and Moringa oleifera plant extracts in fish from Lake Victoria Basin of Kenya. Afr J Food Agric Nutr Dev. 2013; 13:7772. doi: 10.18697/ajfand.58.11260

[15] Shimomol GK, Revathi KB, Deepa N, Sheregar CP, Ashwini TS, Das A. A study on the potential of Moringa leaf, and bark extract in bioremediation of heavy metals from water collected from various lakes in Bangalore. Procedia Environ Sci. 2016; 35:869-880. doi: 10.1016/j.proenv.2016.07.104

[16] Jerri HA, Adolfsen KJ, McCullough LR, Velegol D, Velegol SB. Antimicrobial sand via adsorption of cationic Moringa oleifera protein. Langmuir. 2012; 28(4):2262-2268. doi: 10.1021/la2038262

[17] Vergara-Jimenez M, Almatrafi M, Femandez ML. Bioactive components in Moringa oleifera leaves protect against chronic disease. Antioxidants. 2017; 6(4):91. doi: 10.3390/antiox6040091

[18] Hong AH, Burmanu BR, Uraru AB, Sadiq UM. Removal of heavy metals from contaminated water using Moring olefeira seed coagulant in Yola and its environs. Int J Eng Invent. 2017; 6(11):40.

[19] Nadella S, Nadella L. Heavy metal and bacterial water filtration using Moringa oleifera, and coconut shell-activated carbon. J Emerg Investig. 2024; 7:1. doi: 10.59720/23-021

[20] Omodamiro OD, Nwankwo CI, Ejiofor EU. Antimicrobial and coagulant property of Moringa oleifera seed in water purification. Sch J Agric Vet Sci. 2014; 1(4B):279.

[21] Pritchard M, Craven T, Mkandawire T, Edmondson AS, Neill JGO. A study of the parameters affecting the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera in drinking water purification. Phys Chem Earth. 2010; 35(13-14):791-797. doi: 10.1016/j.pce.2010.07.020

[22] APHA-AWWA-WEF. Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. 22^nd ed. Washington, DC, USA: American Public Health Association/American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation; 2012.

[23] Rattan S. Experiments in Applied Chemistry. 3^rd ed. New Delhi, India: S.K. Kataria and Sons; 2011. p. 94-138.

[24] Chowdhori A, Kabir N, Chowdhury MI, Chowdhury JA. Detection of Escherichia coli in drinking water sources of filter units and supply water. Bangladesh Pharm J. 2016; 19(2):206-210.

[25] Parija SC. Textbook of Microbiology and Immunology. 2^nd ed. New Delhi: Subah Chandra Parija; 2012.

[26] WHO. International Standard for Drinking Water. Vol. 5. Switzerland: WHO; 1999. p. 3-6.

[27] Adhikari MP, Neupane MR, Kafle M. Physico-chemical parameterization, and determination of effect of tributaries on enhancement of pollutants in Bagmati River. J Nepal Chem Soc. 2019; 40:36-43. doi: 10.3126/jncs.v40i0.27276

[28] Gupta DP, Sunita, Saharan JP. Physiochemical analysis of groundwater of selected Area of Kaithal City (Haryana), India. Researcher. 2009; 1(2):1-5.

[29] Muyibi SA, Munirat A, Idris JS, Jamal P, Karim MIA. Statistical optimization of process conditions for disinfection of water using defatted Moringa oleifera seed extract. Int J Environ Ecol Eng. 2013; 7(9):628.

[30] Ndabigengesere A, Narasiah KS, Talbot BG. Active agents, and mechanism of coagulation of turbid waters using Moringa oleifera. Water Res. 1995;29(2):703. doi: 10.1016/0043- 1354 (94)00161-Y

[31] Yarahmadi M, Hossieni M, Bina B, Mahmoudian MM, Naimabadie A, Shahsavani A. Application of Moringa oleifer seed extract, and polualuminum chloride in water treatment. World Appl Sci J. 2009; 7(8):962.

[32] Hendrawati HIR, Yuliastri N, Rohaeti E, Effendi H, Darusman LK. The use of Moringa oleifera seed powder as coagulant to improve the quality of wastewater, and ground water. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci. 2016; 31:012033. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/31/1/012033

[33] Elsergany M. The potential use of Moringa peregrina seeds, and seed extract as a Bio-coagulant for water purification. Water. 2023; 15:2804. doi: 10.3390/w15152804.

[34] Masekela D, Yusuf TL, Hintsho-Mbita NC, Mabuba N. Low cost, recyclable and magnetic Moringa oleifera leaves for chromium (VI) removal from water. Front Water. 2022; 4:722269. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2022.722269