OKRA(HIBISCUS ESCULENTUS)AND FENUGREEK(TRIGONELLA FOENUM GRACEUM)MUCILAGE:CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATION AS FLOCCULANTS FOR TEXTILE EFFLUENT TAEATMENTS

O6; The use of new food grade polysaccharides (mucilage) obtained from Hibiscus esculentus and Trigonella foenum graceum,commonly called Okra and Fenugreek,respectively,as flocculants was described.These polysaccharides were used for removal of solids (suspended solids (SS) and total dissolved solids (TDS)) and dyes from real textile effluents and aqueous solutions of different class of synthetic dyes.Influences of varying polysaccharide concentration,contact time and pH on removal of pollutant from the textile wastewater were investigated.Results showed that polysaccharides (mucilage) obtained from Okra and Fenugreek were capable of removing 90%-94% of SS,30%-44% of TDS and 30%-35% of dye using a very low concentration of polysaccharide.X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of solid waste material obtained before and after the treatment with polysaccharides were used as a supportive evidence to explain the mechanism of flocculation.