EFFECTS OF pH, DOSAGE AND CONTACT TIME ON BORON REMOVAL FROM SYNTHETIC SALINE WATER USING Moringa oleifera SEEDS

Boron is one of the key elements required in flora, fauna, as well as human beings. However, human life and eco-systems could be seriously affected when exposed to excessive levels of boron, especially in seawater and groundwater. In this work Moringa oleifera was selected as a precursor adsorbent owing to its eco-friendliness characteristics and favourable removal efficiency of adsorbates. Besides, M. oleifera does not significantly affect the conductivity of water and pH value after the treatment. The main aim of this work was to investigate the potentiality of M oleifera in the treatment of boron from contaminated saline water. The effect of adsorption parameters such as pH (7 - 9), adsorbent dose of 4000 - 8000 mg/L of solution and contact time of 60 - 180 min was thoroughly investigated. Face-centred Central Composite Design (FCCCD) was applied to optimize these parameters. Consequently, the highest percentage of removal (65%) was achieved at the pH of 8, 120 min of contact time and 6000 mg/L of adsorbent dosage. The adsorption studies stated that the adsorption fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm. Therefore, the outcome of this work revealed that boron could be significantly treated using a prepared adsorbent from M. oleifera.