Moringa Seeds Can Purify Water

Gardening

oi-Staff

By Super Admin

Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 14:57

A new study by scientists discover the way seeds of Moringa oleifera tree can be used for water purification.

Researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, carried out the study.

Flocculation of particulate impurities is the first stage in purification of water. It is usually done with adding aluminum and iron salts but aluminum usually causes health troubles.

An alternative procedure of using seeds of the Moringa oleifera tree is in practice in Africa.

A small amounts of the these seeds can bind strongly to surfaces and thus would cause contaminant particles to aggregate.

A co-operation with the University of Botswana where there is a long interest in exploiting natural products has led to a research which studies how the Moringa oleifera seeds interact, binding strongly both to each other and surfaces so as to cause aggregation in to large lumps that are readily removed from the water.

“It is nice to see how the basic interactions of molecules can play a role in solving practical problems. Understanding of the process may lead to further development in water purification with materials that are locally available and environmentally friendly." said Adrian Rennie, Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University.