Removal of Vat Green 3 Dye from Aqua Solution using Chemical Coagulants and Okra Pods as Natural Coagulant by Coagulation- Flocculation Process

This article presents that the coagulation-flocculation process is one of the water treatment processes that mainly removes dyes from aqua solution by using chemical and natural coagulants. This research was conducted to evaluate the use of chemical coagulants (ferric chloride (FeCl3), aluminum chloride (AlCl3) and natural coagulant (okra pods) to remove Vat Green 3 (VG 3) dye from aqua solution by the coagulation-flocculation process. Various experimental parameters were studied by jar test experiments such as pH, coagulant dosages, initial VG 3 dye concentration, mixing speed, and settling time. The results showed that the maximum removal efficiency of VG 3 dye was for FeCl3 97.261%, AlCl3 94.466% and okra pods 92.572% at optimum conditions pH 6 for FeCl3 and okra pods, pH 7 for AlCl3, coagulant dosage 400 mg/L for FeCl3 and AlCl3, 200 mg/L for okra pods dosage, concentration of dye 80 mg/L, mixing speed 150 rpm, and settling time 60 min for FeCl3 and AlCl3, 70 min for okra pods at room temperature 25 +/- 2 oC. The maximum volume of sludge at optimum conditions was 33 mL/L, 20 mL/L, 3 mL/L for FeCl3, AlCl3, okra pods, respectively. The kinetics of the coagulation-flocculation process was obeying pseudo first order kinetics more than pseudo second order kinetics. These results indicated that the natural coagulant (okra pods) could be an alternative to chemical coagulants for removal of VG 3 dye from textile effluent due to its low cost, biodegradable, non-polluting and lower sludge production.