Coagulative Behaviour of Banana Peel (Musa Spp) in Greywater Turbidity Reduction

Roland Songotu Kabange

Kumasi Technical University

Peter Dinko

Kumasi Technical University

Musah Saeed Zango

Accra School of Hygiene, Korle Bu

Michael Affordofe

Keywords: Covid-19; Mobile Money Service; Taxi drivers; Security; Convenience; Ghana


Abstract

There has been a global rise in greywater generation and water scarcity over the past decade due to population growth and rapid urbanization. Greywater treatment and reuse are, therefore, inevitable to augment the dwindling water resources. Peels of Musa spp (banana peels) are scientifically recognized as natural and eco-friendly coagulant but are a public health threat and waste in urban centers today. Besides, Ghana currently has scanty meaningful data on the use of peels of Musa spp application to treat greywater. This research, therefore, investigates the potential of using peels of Musa spp for greywater treatment. The study prepared a natural coagulant by grinding Musa spp and dissolving it in distilled water, and the solution was filtered to extract the active ingredient. Further, a coagulation jar test was conducted on the collected greywater samples. Greywater turbidity was reduced by 88% to 11.7 NTU from an initial 98 NTU with the introduction of optimum coagulant dosage of 70 ml. Significant greywater turbidity reduction suggested the presence of high levels of suspended solids. The research recommends scaling-up the use of peels of Musa spp as a natural coagulant for greywater treatment.


Author Biographies

Musah Saeed Zango, Accra School of Hygiene, Korle Bu

Department of Environmental Health and Sanitation, Accra School of Hygiene, Korle Bu, P. O. Box GP 753, Accra Ghana.

Michael Affordofe

Department of Environmental Health and Sanitation, Accra School of Hygiene, Korle Bu, P. O. Box GP 753, Accra, Ghana