CHAPTER - 7 REMOVAL OF TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS USING HERBAL

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1 CHAPTER - 7 REMOVAL OF TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS USING HERBAL

2 CHAPTER 7 Removal of Total Dissolved Solids using Herbals 7.1 Introduction The rapid population growth, both in rural and urban areas, has stressed existing water supply systems. This is accompanied by the sustainability of operation and maintenance of water supply infrastructure that has hindered access to water by the poor in many developing countries. The situation is again aggravated by deterioration of the quality of water resources, attributed to the direct industrial and municipal waste discharge rendering existing treatment units ineffective to meet the water quality standards, both on a national and WHO level. Clean, potable, drinking water can make all the difference between healthy and unhealthy living, and sometimes even between life and death. However, even in this age of scientific researches, the rhetoric of 'water for all' remains a distant dream as the government has failed to come to the aid of all, especially those living in the rural areas. Developing safe drinking water supplies is one of the most urgent challenges facing developing nations. In order to alleviate the prevailing difficulties, approaches should focus on sustainable water supply and treatment systems that are cost effective. It is important that these technologies are affordable and preferably use local materials. 7.2 Impacts of High water Sustainability of good health of living organisms depends upon the purity of water. Because of its inherent dissolution capacity, water naturally picks up minerals and salt present in the earth crust during the runoff and percolation process. Water i s used for several purposes by human beings and the level of purity of water consumed is very crucial as it has a direct and telling effect on health. Nearly 1.6 million people are constrained to use contaminated water and more than a million people die from diarrhea every year due to water borne diseases especially in developing countries (Postnote, 2002). 192

3 There are potential health effects caused due to high content in drinking water. The hard water will taste bitter, salty, or metallic and may have unpleasant odours. High water is less thirst quenching. High interferes with the taste of foods and beverages, and makes them less desirable to consume. Some of the individual mineral salts such as Nitrates, Sodium, Sulfates, Barium, Cadmium, Copper and Fluoride that make up pose a variety of health hazards such as causing stiffness in the joints, hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, gall stones and blockages of arteries, microscopic capillaries and other passages in which liquids flow through our entire body. 7.2 Water Purification System Domestic water purifiers available in India use chemicals, activated carbon filtration, distillation, UV purification, reverse osmosis, ion exchange resin or a combination of technologies. Chemicals such as chlorine were used to bleach the water to remove biological contaminants in it. Bleaching of water is not preferred as it only kills the microbes in the water but it does not purify it as the water may contain toxic chemicals and other dissolved minerals. And chlorine treated water may affect liver and lead to hepatic damage. So this method using chemicals are now mostly not preferred in domestic water purification. In the conventional method of water purification, aluminium sulphate (alum) and calcium hypochlorite are used as water coagulants. These coagulants are more expensive and financially they prove to be an over-burden. The chemicals used for water purification can cause serious health hazards if they are erroneously administered in during the treatment process (Crapper et al.,1973; Miller et al., 1984) Another report says that the use of these chemicals may lead to neurological diseases (Martyn et al., 1989). Activated carbon (AC) filtration is a well-established technology for the reduction of a wide range of aesthetic contaminants and is quite effective in the reduction of some health contaminants such as volatile organic compounds like benzene, trichloroethylene and other petroleum based contaminants. The main disadvantage of AC filters is that it serves as a breeding ground for microorganisms. The organic chemicals that are adsorbed to the AC are a source of food for various types of bacteria. 193

4 Distillation is the process of removal of impurities by boiling and condensing the water. Disadvantage of using distillation in domestic water purification is that it consumes more time and electricity. Reverse osmosis involves in removal of water impurities (both organic and inorganic source) by applying high pressure on the water to pass it through a membrane that can selectively remove the impurities from the water. Though RO purification is common in most domestic water filtration, it carries some disadvantages such as production of more waste water (reject water); RO filters are susceptible to high damage which is not easily detected, frequent change of RO membranes. UV water purification is by exposing Ultra-Violet light which kills most of micro-organisms but it is not effective lessening the of the water (Ghebremichael et al., 2005; Amagloh et al., 2009). UV purifiers are successful for water systems with low. Deionization (DI) is a water filtration process whereby total dissolved solids () are removed from water through ion exchange. DI resins attract non-water ions and replace them with water ions, leaving a more pure water form. DI has a relatively short filter cartridge life and once it begins to fail, the level of the purified will rise exponentially. The heavy metals and chemical contaminants are effectively removed by fruit peel (Wanna et al., 2009; Okieimen and Oneenkpa, 1989) and melon seed husk (Sunil Kumar et al., 2007; Robert Mathews et al., 2009). In such a scenario, it's time to re-discover India's ancient and traditional water-purifying methods using herbs and seeds, which cleanse the water while retaining its natural benefits. The primary objective of this study is to identify the appropriate herbs for the removal of contaminants from water and to develop a water treatment process, which is economically viable, physically feasible and socially acceptable. The present study is a preliminary attempt to explore plant materials such as Neem, Vettiver root, Thulsi, and lemon peel for reducing the total dissolved solids () in a domestic waste water. 194

5 7.3 Plant parts in Water Purification New approaches are discovered to minimize or even eliminate the above mentioned defects and disadvantages of the water purification techniques. This approach uses herbal plants and their parts to lessen content in the hard water. Most of the plants have the capacity to absorb inorganic mineral salts through roots and store them as organic minerals. Some plant parts have the capacity to absorb the dissolved salts over their surface. Adsorption phenomena in some plants were already reported and been used as in the form of activated carbon filters. In this approach the herbal plant parts such as Neem, Vettiver, Thulsi and lemon peel are used to infer whether they can reduce the hard water content. Using herbal approaches to reduce water pollution may be cost effective and simpler than other synthetic methods. The primary objective of this study is to identify the most appropriate herbal plants for the removal of total dissolved solids from water. Four herbs namely Neem, Vettiver, Thulsi and lemon peel were chosen for this study. The effectiveness of these herbs in the removal of total dissolved solids () has been investigated. The results obtained from this study satisfied that the has removed to a tolerable limit in the waste water and which can be used for domestic treatment purposes. 7.4 Characteristic of Plants Neem with botanical name Azadirachta indica is a very popular herb in India and because of its medicinal and other beneficial properties it is now known across the world.owing to its exceptional beneficial properties, neem has important place in ayurveda.in India, neem is considered as a "Sacred Tree" and "Panacea for all Diseases" and can be found anywhere. Each part of the tree whether leaf, twig, root or bark is beneficial in one or other form. Neem is used in a variety of traditional medical practices Tulsi is known as Holy basil which is worshipped in the morning and evening by Hindus at large. It is considered as India s Queen of herbs. It is widely known across South Asia as a medicinal plant and an herbal tea, commonly used in Ayurveda. It has got medicinal properties as well as cosmetic properties. Tulsi is grown in almost all Indian homes. 195

6 Biological name of tulsi is Oscimum sanctum and in common English language it is called holy basil. This herb is commonly found everywhere in India. Plant height varies from 2-4 ft. It flowers in winter season i.e. about December to February. Plant parts used are leaves, flower, seeds and root. It is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil. Vetiver is a member of the Gramineae family; the vetiver is native to the the South Asian region which includes India and Ceylon. The word "vetiver"is a Tamil word meaning "root that is dug up". Vetiveria zizanioides is the botanic term for the vetiver plant. Highly fragrant, it is known as khus in the northern and western parts of the country and it is also commonly known as khus khus. This perennial grass can grow to heights of upto 1.5 meters. Vetiver occurs in thick clumps and is characterized by the presence of a tall stem with leaves which are slender, long and rigid in structure. Highly adaptive, it is generally grown in the wild and has distinctive brownish purple flowers. It grows well in the tropics and is produced on a large scale in Haiti, India, Java, China, Brazil and Japan. It has many uses in many spheres. The aromatic essential oil is the main by-product of the vetiver. It is used in Ayurvedic medicines and also as scented oil. Lime is a citrus fruit. Biological name of lime tree is Citrus aurantifolia, belongs to the Rue family (Rutaceae). Its fruits like other citrus fruits are very rich in vitamins A, B and C. It also contains minerals.they have a tangy flavour and are used in cooking, baking, pickling etc. It also contains various other minerals and acids. The fruit juice is an efficacious remedy in scurvy, anaemia, intestinal disorders, cough and cold, gastric troubles, constipation, fevers, typhoid and high blood pressure. Lime is a tonic, rejuvenative and refresher. The lime tree has glossy, elliptical or oblong leaves usually 2 to 3 inches long. The tiny white flowers are usually borne in small clusters. This fruit is very valuable in liver and stomach trouble, bronchitis, cough and cold, sore throat, pharyngitis, laryngitis, diarrhoea, dysentery and spleen troubles. 196

7 7.5 Materials and methods Neem leaves, Vettiver root, Thulsi leaves and Lemon peel were collected washed with formaldehyde wash and acid - alkaline wash (Jamode et al., 2004) in order to remove dust and other impurities (Sunil Kumar et al., 2007). T h e n plant materials w a s h e d with distilled water. Finally the washed herbs were dried and prepared in powder form. The water samples were collected from Vaigai River at six different locations. The concentration of the collected waste water was around 2000 mg/l. 10 g of each powdered herbs were mixed 500 ml waste water sample taken in a 1000 ml beaker. Then the suspensions were mixed rapidly with a mechanical stirrer for 10 minutes. Then the suspensions were allowed to stand without any disturbance for 6 0 minutes. Finally, the supernatant was filtered through Whatmann 4 0filter paper. Similar procedure was carried out for different time intervals. Total dissolved solids determined for the filtered water and the analysis was carried out according to standard methods (APHA-AWA-WPCF, 1992) Percentage of decrease in = 100 (Initial Value Final Value) / Initial Value 7.6 Results and Discussion Neem leaves, Vettiver root, Thulsi leaves and Lemon peel are used to reduce the of the domestic waste water. Most of the plant materials are available throughout the year at low or no cost. The experimental results are tabulated in tables Table 7.1 Characteristics of herbal mixture S.No Name and part of the plant Quantity Taken(gram) 1 Neem leaves 10 2 Vettiver root 10 3 Thulsi leaves 10 4 Lemon peel 10 Total Quantity

8 Table 7.2 comparison in waste water after 60 minutes S.No Sample Code Before Treatment After treatment Removal Efficiency (%) 1 WW WW WW WW WW WW After 1 hour the filtered solution was estimated to find out the concentration. It is observed that maximum efficiency 43.88% removed for waste water sample WW6, which has showed initial value 1586 mg/l to the final value of 890 mg/l. The minimum removal efficiency is showed by the sample WW1 with efficiency 40.63% and the amount of reduced from 2326 to 1381 mg/l. Table 7.3 comparison in waste water after 90 minutes S.No Sample Code Before Treatment After treatment Removal Efficiency (%) 1 WW WW WW WW WW WW

9 The second set of waste water samples mixed with 40 gm of herbal mixture and allowed to withstand 90 minutes. It is observed that maximum efficiency 35.25% removed for waste water sample WW6, which has showed initial value 1586 mg/l to the final value of 1027 mg/l. The minimum removal efficiency is showed by the sample WW3 with efficiency 31.48% and the amount of reduced from 1982 to 1358 mg/l. Table 7.4 comparison in waste water after 120 minutes S.No Sample Code Before Treatment After treatment Removal Efficiency (%) 1 WW WW WW WW WW WW The last set of waste water samples mixed with 40 gm of herbal mixture and allowed to withstand 120 minutes. It is observed that maximum efficiency 55.04% removed for waste water sample WW6, which has showed initial value 1586 mg/l to the final value of 713 mg/l. The minimum removal efficiency is showed by the sample WW3 with efficiency 48.94% and the amount of reduced from 1982 to 1012 mg/l. 7.7 Conclusion The reduction of by using herbal plant parts are effective and can be implemented in the field of water purification systems. The herbal mixture is used in reducing the dissolved solids effectively in the waste water. Time is also an important factor in removal of. The increase in time from 60 min to 120 min helps in removing excess dissolved solids from the same domestic waste water samples. 199

10 In the present study, the evaluation of herbals in reducing the has been done to determine their efficacy in community waste water treatment. Hence it is concluded that the herbal mixture used in this study can be highly recommended for domestic waste water purification. The herbal mixture is reduced the content to a remarkable extent, but the water is n o t completely purified. However they drastically reduce the number of suspended and dissolved substances. 200

Good pharmacopoeial practices: Chapter on monographs on herbal medicines

Annex 7 Good pharmacopoeial practices: Chapter on monographs on herbal medicines Background Following the fiftieth meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations,