Eliminating turbidity from water by adopting a new composite organic material as a coagulant

This study investigates the effectiveness of a new composite natural coagulant – comprising Luffa mucilage, pomegranate peel, and lemon peel derived from agricultural waste – for removing water turbidity. Different proportions of the composite material were made, and jar tests were conducted to ascertain the most effective operating conditions, such as dosage of coagulant, pH, and initial turbidity. A 1:1:1 mixing ratio was found to be ideal and gave a maximum turbidity-removal efficiency of 94% in low-turbidity water (50 NTU) at pH 11 and a dosage of 100 mg/L. The composite coagulant was shown to have better performance than the individual components. A random forest machine learning model was also developed to predict removal efficiency based on the relevant operational parameters. The model had high predictive power (R2 = 0.97, MAE = 2.66%), and initial turbidity was found to be the most significant parameter. This study demonstrates the potential of the developed composite as a viable alternative to chemical coagulants and provides a reliable machine learning algorithm for optimizing coagulation in water treatment.