MAJOR PROJECT-Phase 1

Sustainable Treatment of Industrial

Wastewater: A Three-Stage Eco friendly
Approach Using Coagulation, Filtration,
and Disinfection

Project Members :
PROJECT GUIDES
Manjunath J 1CD22CV008
PROF. SREEVIDYA RAMAN S
Jayashree H G 1CD22CV004 PROF. MURAGENDRA NAIK
Vamshinath Gowda V 1CD23CV406
PROECT COORDINATOR
Nandeesh Kumar L 1CD23CV402
PROF. VINAY KUMAR .S

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 CONTENTS:
CONTENTS:

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Literature review
4. Methodology
5. Materials
6. Results and Discussion
7. Reference

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 INTRODUCTION
• Water is more essential for the survival of human beings. But increasing of population demands more
quantity and better quality of water and at the same time human activities are disrupting the natural water
bodies making them as waste.
• The Industrial Wastewater contains harmful chemicals, heavy metals (e.g., lead, mercury, cadmium), and
solvents.
• It Also Contains High Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) & Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels,
That indicates large amounts of organic and chemical pollutants.
• Many industrial discharges have extreme pH levels , Which are Corrosive to infrastructure and harmful to
aquatic life.
• The Treated Effluent Can be effectively use in Secondary purposes like Flushing , Gardening and Aquifer
recharge .

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Conventional Wastewater Treatment Sequence :

Screening:
• Its function is to remove large solid materials from the incoming wastewater.
Sedimentation:
• Remove settleable solids (like sand, silt, organic matter)
Coagulation (with Alum):
• Alum is added to the wastewater, usually at a flash mixing point . It reacts with alkalinity in
the water to form aluminum hydroxide flocs.
Flocculation:
• Slow mixing helps form larger flocs.
Filtration :
• Remove fine suspended solids not settled by sedimentation
Disinfection :
• chlorine or UV after solid removal for effective pathogen inactivation.
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Coagulation :
• Coagulation in wastewater treatment is a process used to remove suspended particles, dirt, and
other impurities from water.
Filtration :
• Filtration in wastewater treatment is a physical process used to remove fine particles and some
microorganisms from the water by passing it through a porous material or filter media.
Disinfection :
• Disinfection in wastewater treatment is the final process used to kill or inactivate harmful
microorganisms (like bacteria, viruses, and parasites) before the water is discharged into the
environment .

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Disadvantages of Alum Over Natural Coagulants :

• It lowers the pH of water (acidic nature), so alkalinity must be added (e.g., lime or soda ash)
to maintain optimal conditions.
• Alum generates a large amount of sludge (aluminum hydroxide floc).
• Alum solutions are corrosive, requiring careful handling and storage. Can damage pipes,
pumps, and equipment if not properly managed.
• It helps reduce pathogens only by physical removal (via flocculation and sedimentation), but
does not kill them.

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Advantages of Natural Coagulants :

• Biodegradable and non-toxic.
• Generate less and lighter sludge, which is easier and cheaper to manage and dispose.
• Many natural coagulants (e.g. Moringa oleifera, Nirmali seeds, cactus extracts) can be grown or
sourced locally, reducing costs and promoting local economies
• Reduce risks of residual aluminum , heavy metals in treated water.
• Non-carcinogenic and safe for human consumption when used in drinking water treatment.

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Aim of the study:

To develop and evaluate an effective and eco-friendly three-stage treatment process for industrial
wastewater using natural coagulants derived from Neem, Papaya, Tulsi, and Castor leaves, followed by
filtration and disinfection.

Objectives:

1. To extract natural coagulants from Neem, Papaya, Tulsi, and Castor leaves for potential use in the
coagulation process.
2. Implement a three-stage treatment system comprising coagulation, filtration, and disinfection, and
evaluate its overall performance in improving wastewater quality.
3. To compare the treatment efficiency of the natural coagulants with conventional chemical coagulant
(Alum), focusing on parameters such as pH, turbidity, BOD, COD, and MPN count.

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 Literature Review :
SL NO. TITLE Author (year) Literature Review

The study reviewed UV disinfection systems for

wastewater treatment, focusing on microorganism
UVDisinfection Systems for
[Link] systems using mercury lamps and
Wastewater Treatment: Yenifer González [Link]
1 LEDs were assessed, along with advanced oxidation
Emphasis on Reactivation of (2023)
processes (AOPs) like UV/O₃ and UV/H₂O₂.Effective
Microorganisms
UV dose was found to be ≥40 mJ/cm² to reduce
reactivation. Combining UV with AOPs improved
disinfection and minimized microorganism regrowth.
The study used a UV disinfection system (254 nm,
30W) with a stainless-steel reactor to treat industrial
Operational analysis wastewater. Dry ice (4.5 g) was added to adjust pH to
of the biological treatment ~7.9 for better UV effectiveness. UV exposure time
Edris Fotoohi [Link]
2 unit's ultraviolet‑wave ranged from 40 to 320 seconds, with 280 seconds
(2024)
disinfection method found optimal. Key results showed BOD reduced by
for wastewater outflow 20.3%, COD by 35%, and nitrate by 71.9%. Overall,
UV treatment effectively reduced pollutants without
altering wastewater composition.

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The study reviewed UV disinfection of viruses in

water using sources like low-pressure mercury
lamps, UV-LEDs, and KrCl excimer lamps. It
analyzed how UV light (especially around 265 nm)
UV inactivation of viruses in
damages viral genomes, preventing replication.
water: its potential to mitigate Kumiko Oguma [Link]
3 Highly resistant viruses like adenovirus need higher
current and future threats of (2021)
UV doses (up to 235 mJ/cm²) for effective
viral infectious diseases
inactivation. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 is more
sensitive, needing only about 4–19 mJ/cm². Overall,
UV disinfection is effective and practical for
controlling waterborne viral threats.
This review studied UV LED technology for water
disinfection, focusing on different wavelengths like
265 nm and 280 nm. UVC LEDs at 265 nm are most
effective for DNA damage, while 280 nm helps
LED technology in water Miguel Martín-Sómer prevent microbial repair. Combining UVA and UVC
4
photodisinfection [Link] (2023) improves disinfection by generating reactive oxygen
species (ROS). Pulsed UVC LEDs offer better heat
control without reducing germicidal efficiency.
Overall, UV LEDs are energy-efficient and a
promising alternative to mercury lamps.

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This review highlights UV LEDs as effective,

mercury-free alternatives to traditional UV
disinfection. Materials used include AlGaN-based
LEDs and various microorganisms in synthetic and
real water matrices. Methods involved analyzing
ultra-violet light emitting inactivation kinetics, flow-through reactor
Kyle D. Rauch [Link]
5 diodes as a one water performance, and LED efficiency parameters like
(2024)
disinfection technology EQE and WPE. Results show UV LEDs offer
comparable or better disinfection at optimal
wavelengths (253.7–270 nm) and steadily improving
power and efficiency. UV LED systems also exhibit
slower fouling and enhanced design flexibility for
water and wastewater treatment.
The study used plant leaves (mango, neem, guava,
etc.) as biosorbents to remove phosphorus from
Performances of plant leaf
synthetic water. Leaves were cleaned, dried,
biosorbents for biosorption of Subhashish Dey [Link]
6 powdered, and tested under varying pH, dosage,
phosphorous from synthetic (2023)
contact time, and [Link] best result of
water
phosphorus removal efficiency were at pH 4–8, 1.2 g
dosage, 60 min contact time, and 25 °C.

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The study reviews plant-based methods for water

and wastewater treatment. Materials include seeds,
Recent advancements in leaves, peels from plants like Moringa, Neem, and
utilizing plant-based Citrus. Methods involve coagulation, adsorption, and
7 approaches for water and Jatin Kumar [Link] (2024) disinfection using plant extracts. Results show high
wastewater treatment efficiency in removing turbidity, heavy metals, and
technologies dyes. Plant-based treatments are eco-friendly, cost-
effective, and generate less sludge than chemical
methods.
The study explores replacing chemical coagulants
with plant-based extracts like Moringa oleifera and
Cicer arietinum. Methods included reviewing
The potential and constraints literature on turbidity, pathogen, and heavy metal
of replacing conventional removal efficiencies. Results showed natural
Denzil Diver [Link]
8 chemical coagulants with coagulants removed up to 96% turbidity and
(2023)
natural plant extracts in water significantly reduced microbial and metal
and wastewater treatment contaminants. They also produced less sludge and
were non-toxic and biodegradable. However,
challenges remain in scaling up and standardizing
their use.

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The leaves were dried, ground, extracted with

Potential plant leaves as distilled water, and tested using a jar test at various
sustainable green coagulant Ayat Khalid Salem [Link] dosages (0–10,000 mg/L). Turbidity removal
9
for (2023) efficiency was measured, and statistical analysis was
turbidity removal conducted . Neem (67.2%) showed the highest
removal rates.
The study used sugarcane bagasse, sand, and gravel
in a fabricated filtration unit to treat raw water.
Methods included physicochemical analyses such as
turbidity, pH, TDS, and conductivity measurements,
Raw Water Treatment Using a
with and without the bagasse layer. Water was
Filtration Bed Made of Olatunji Sunday
10 filtered for varying contact times to assess
Sugarcane Bagasse as an Olaniyan [Link] (2022)
performance. Results showed turbidity reduction up
Adsorption Layer
to 76.53%, TDS up to 93.53%, and conductivity by
26.58%. The study concluded that sugarcane bagasse
is an effective, low-cost adsorbent for water
treatment.

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Sugarcane bagasse was used as a bio-coagulant

precursor for water treatment due to its
lignocellulosic composition. Various chemical
treatments (NaOH, HCl, H₂SO₄) were applied to
Prospects and challenges of
extract active compounds. Methods included
utilizing sugarcane bagasse as Kingsley O. Iwuozor
11 coagulation tests, characterization, and optimization
a bio-coagulant precursor for [Link] (2023)
of pH and dosage. Results showed up to 99.9%
water treatment
turbidity removal and high reductions in COD and
TOC. Sugarcane bagasse proved to be an effective,
eco-friendly, and low-cost alternative to chemical
coagulants.
Activated carbon filters were made from coconut
endocarp and rice husk. Five filter combinations
Evaluation of the efficiency
were tested on wastewater for pH, BOD, COD, EC,
of activated carbon filters
Emerson Chavez [Link] TSS, and coliforms. Rice husk-based filters showed
12 based on coconut endocarp
(2025) over 90% removal efficiency for BOD and COD.
and rice husk for wastewater
Coconut-based filters were less effective, and none
treatment
removed coliforms. The study supports using agro-
waste AC as a low-cost water treatment method.

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The paper compares tannin-based coagulants with

Purifying water with plant- common ones like aluminum and iron salts and
based sustainable solutions: Tiina Leiviska & Sílvia shows that tannins often work just as well or even
13
Tannin coagulants C.R. Santos (2023) better — they remove color, turbidity, and metals
and sorbents from municipal and industrial wastewater, produce
less sludge, and don’t change the water’s pH much.
The study applied a life cycle assessment (LCA) to
Life cycle assessment of identify environmental impacts, along with cost
nature-based coagulant analysis and performance testing for turbidity
Sanja Cojbasic [Link]
14 production: Light and dark removal in water. The results showed that while
(2025)
sides of the freeze-drying freeze-dried (UVO) coagulants had the best water
process purification efficiency (around 71% turbidity
removal)

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focus on comparing the performance of two natural

coagulants—Moringa oleifera (MO) and Benincasa
hispida (BH)—with the widely used synthetic
coagulant alum in a
coagulation–flocculation–sedimentation (CFS)
Natural coagulants (Moringa
[Link] experiments involved different dosages
oleifera and Benincasa Priya Agarwal [Link]
15 of alum, MO, and BH to measure their efficiency in
hispida) based removal (2024)
removing MPn, which was quantified
of microplastics
microscopically. Results showed that MO achieved
86.99% removal efficiency at 150 mg/L, BH achieved
83.73% at 100 mg/L, and alum achieved 86.58% at 50
mg/L, indicating that natural coagulants performed
almost as effectively as synthetic ones.
Optimisation of using a blend
of plant based natural and the research determined that an optimal blend of 13%
synthetic alum, 42.6% Moringa oleifera, and 44.4% Cactus
B.I. Gandiwa [Link]
16 coagulants for water Opuntia at a total dosage of 45 mg/L achieved
(2020)
treatment: (Moringa Oleifera- superior results, producing treated water with a
Cactus Opuntia-alum turbidity of 2.7 NTU, pH 6.99
blend)

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The research addresses the problem of limited access

Papaya seed extract as to safe drinking water in developing regions and the
coagulant for potable water high cost and health risks associated with
treatment in the case of Anwar [Link] conventional chemical coagulants like alum. Through
17
Tulte River for the (2021) jar test experiments, the authors evaluated under
community of Yekuset varying doses, pH levels, and mixing times to
district, Ethiopia determine optimal conditions for turbidity removal.
The results achieving 97.77% turbidity removal.
Using Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage extract, the
authors conducted jar tests on both synthetic and real
A green approach for the
wastewater samples to determine its
treatment of oily steelworks
Edward Lester-Card coagulation–flocculation efficiency. The findings
18 wastewater using
[Link] (2023) revealed that Cactus Opuntia mucilage, rich in
natural coagulant of Moringa
polysaccharides such as galacturonic acid and
oleifera seed
arabinose, effectively removes turbidity and
suspended solids

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The research compares the performance of these

natural coagulants with that of a conventional
Aquaculture wastewater chemical coagulant, alum, focusing on the removal
treatment using plant-based efficiencies of turbidity, total suspended solids
coagulants: Azmi Ahmad [Link] (TSS), color, and chemical oxygen demand
19
Evaluating removal efficiency (2024) (COD).removal—achieving 85.17% turbidity,
through the coagulation- 80.28% TSS, 59.42% color, and 54.63% COD
flocculation process reduction at a dosage of only 0.79 mg/L—while alum
achieved higher removals but required a significantly
larger dosage (698.4 mg/L).
Enhancing accessibility to This study introduces a cost-effective and rapid
water treatment: An process involving simple steps—peeling, grinding,
economical and stirring with water, and paper filtration—completed
sustainable method for Danieli Soares de in under 30 minutes without the use of saline
20
producing a moringa oleifera- Oliveira [Link] (2024) solutions or advanced equipment. Experimental
based results demonstrated that the coagulant effectively
natural coagulant through achieved up to 100% turbidity removal using only 5
paper filtration mL per liter of water across different turbidity levels

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 METHODOLOGY :

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 MATERIALS USED:

Fig 1: Neem leaf Fig 2: Castor leaf

Fig 3: Papaya leaf Fig 4: Tulasi leaf

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 Fig 5 : Coconut Fiber Fig 6 : Charcoal Fig 7: UV Lamp

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 Fig 8: Experimental 3 Stage Setup

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 Coagulation:
Coagulation trials were conducted using Four plant-based coagulants Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) leaf powder,
castor (Ricinus communis) leaf powder, Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf powder, Papay (Carica papaya) leaf
powder. Each coagulant was prepared by drying the plant material at 110 °C for 1 hours, followed by
pulverization and sieving to obtain a uniform particle size (<250 µm). Raw effluent samples were introduced
into 1-liter borosilicate beakers, and coagulation was initiated using standard jar test procedures. Rapid mixing
at 100 rpm for 1 minute was followed by slow mixing at 30 rpm for 15 minutes. The system was allowed to
settle for 30 minutes, and the supernatant was decanted for filtration. Optimal dosage and pH conditions were
determined through iterative trials, with turbidity and COD reduction as performance indicators.

Fig 9: Jar test apparatus

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 Filtration:
The filtration kit was custom-fabricated using 10 mm thick borosilicate glass panels, assembled into a
rectangular chamber measuring 50 cm in height, 30 cm in width, and 30 cm in depth, yielding a total volume
of 40 liters. To ensure structural integrity and leak-proof operation, high-grade silicone sealant was used at all
joints. The chamber was packed with four stratified layers of media, each 7 cm thick, arranged from bottom to
top as coconut fiber, charcoal, coarse aggregates, and fine aggregates.

Fig 10 : Filtration Setup

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 Disinfection:

The final stage involved UV disinfection, where the filtered effluent was passed through a chamber
fitted with a UV lamp (wavelength: 254 nm). The chamber was enclosed to prevent water contact
and ensure optimal transmission. The system was calibrated to deliver a UV dose ≥40 mJ/cm², with
a contact time of 30 minutes. This stage targeted microbial inactivation and suppression of photo
reactivation.

Fig 11 : UV Lamp

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 Results and discussion:
Parameter Raw Treated Effluent
Effluent Coagulation Filtration Disinfection
Treated Efficiency Treated Efficiency Treated Efficiency
effluent (%) effluent (%) effluent (%)

pH 12.6 10.2 - 8.1 - 7.5 -

TSS 3265 1200 63.25 400 66.67 35 91.25
(mg/L)
COD 33728 11235 66.69 1800 83.98 80.23 95.55
(mg/L)
BOD 2100 1240 40.95 115 85.45 17 86.14
(mg/L)
Microbial 22 14 36.36 4 71.42 0.85 78.75
Count
(CFU)
Table 1:- 3 stage process with Alum as Coagulant

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 Results and discussion:
Paramete Raw Treated Effluent
r Effluent
Coagulation Filtration Disinfection
Treated Efficiency Treated Efficiency Treated Efficiency
effluent (%) effluent (%) effluent (%)

pH 12.6 10.2 - 8.1 - 7.5 -

TSS 3265 1897 41.90 378 80.07 62 83.60
(mg/L)
COD 33728 19342 42.65 3076 84.10 212 93.11
(mg/L)
BOD 2100 1765 15.95 332 81.19 46 86.14
(mg/L)
Microbial 22 19 13.64 9 52.63 2 77.78
Count
(CFU)

Table 1:- 3 stage process with Tulsi as Coagulant

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 Reference:
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