The potential application of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves as a plant-based coagulant to remove turbidity

In this study, the effectiveness of coagulant extracted from mulberry leaves (ML) was investigated. Using a conventional chemical coagulant, like aluminium sulphate and ferric chloride, in water treatment can result in an accumulation of aluminium and iron in the water supply. This led to a significant number of studies being carried out by researchers to create a novel method for treating turbidity in raw water with a natural coagulant. The synthetic turbid water was treated using a series of Jar Test experimental works with a range of operating conditions, including pH (4 - 9) and coagulant dosage (10 - 50 mg/L). The treatments were carried out with a fast-mixing speed of 150 rpm for 2 min, a slow-mixing speed of 35 rpm for 20 min, and a settling time of 30 min. Mulberry leaves coagulant (MLC) successfully removed 96.53 % of turbidity under the optimum dosage of 10 mg/L. pH 4 was the optimum pH for turbidity removal (99.67 %). According to the findings, turbidity reduction can be enhanced by employing ML as a novel natural coagulant in water treatment. Furthermore, the use of this natural coagulant can minimise the health risks associated with long-term use of chemical coagulants while somehow reducing the amount of chemical sludge product released into the environment.