Application of Moringa in the Removal of Salts from the Desalinator Reject

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the reject produced by the desalinators implanted in the semi-arid Pernambuco in contact with the seeds of Moringa oleifera Lam. For this, Moringa seeds were collected and prepared with the following treatments: reject (control), reject with whole seed with and without husks, reject with crushed seed with and without husks, seed residue with and without husks, in five replicas. Each replica was constituted with doses equivalent to 2.0 g of Moringa seeds for 200 mL of reject, with contact time corresponding to 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes, in a completely randomized design, under laboratory conditions, total of 140 experimental units. The physical-chemical and statistical analyses were performed through analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the F test, at confidence interval of 95%. It has been found through laboratory tests that seeds with crushed or ground Moringa husks are equally effective at adsorbing sodium from 1,868,0 mg/L to 24,6 mg/L (98,7 %), calcium from 1,005.0 mg/L to 894.6 mg/L (11%), magnesium from 741.0 mg/L to 728.3 mg/L (1.7%) and chloride from 6,997.5 mg/L to 6,782.4 mg/L (1.8%). Therefore, Moringa seed can be considered promising in the adsorption of chemical elements of saline water desalinizers.