Malunggay Seeds Use in Water Purifying Technology

With the use of the seed of ubiquitous malunggay plant, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has developed a simple and easy to set up water purification system (WPS).

Researchers at the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) said that seed kernels of malunggay have important amounts of water soluble protein that hold a positive charge.

When added to turbid water, it can attract negatively charged particles like contaminants. As a result, there will be a collection of particles that are simply removed through settling.

Purifying stage starts with settling or coagulation. If raw water contains considerable amounts of contaminants like silts, soil, bacteria, and other sediments, raw water is pre-treated with alum or powdered mature malunggay seeds.

The process of treating the water with moringa seeds would take at least one to two hours.
After pre-treatment, water is filtered through activated carbon layer and layers of different sizes of pumice, stone, and sand.

After filtration, the water is chlorinated to eliminate microorganism. The final step involves the use of locally-developed ceramic filter with 1.0 micron pore size.

The treatment process was first tested in Brgy. Tabon-Tabon, Daraga, Albay.

Results showed that the system could lessen if not eliminate coli-form in water from jetmatic pumps. The water is crystal clear with no rusty odor, which meets Philippine National Standards for drinking water.

The WPS costs about P15, 000 including of labor and materials like plastic containers, sand, activated carbon, and ceramic filters.

Overall, it can purify tap and deep well water that’s safe for drinking. It can also dispense 10L of potable water per hour.

The equipment is ideal for the places without access to safe drinking water.

This proves that malunggay plant is the new wonder tree aside from the coconut tree. [via encyclopedia.com]