Sustainable treatment of agricultural effluent using sugarcane bagasse and aluminium sulfate

Agricultural activities often lead to water pollution due to fertilizer use, which can cause eutrophication and harm ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of sugarcane bagasse extract and aluminum sulfate as coagulants in treating agricultural effluent, focusing on turbidity, pH, and nitrate removal. A jar test experiment was conducted using various dosages to determine the optimum level for each coagulant. Sugarcane bagasse extract showed its best performance at 12 mg/L, removing about 42% turbidity, while aluminum sulfate achieved 100% turbidity removal at 48 mg/L. However, aluminum sulfate lowered the pH to 3.91, making it less suitable for irrigation. In contrast, sugarcane bagasse maintained a safer pH of 4.705. For nitrate removal, aluminum sulfate showed consistent and stable performance, while sugarcane bagasse results were more variable. Overall, aluminum sulfate is highly effective in removing turbidity and nitrate but may not be ideal for applications requiring a neutral pH. Sugarcane bagasse extract shows potential as a natural coagulant but requires pre-treatment to improve its performance.