Our Water Purification Approach: Coagulation and Flocculation
Our approach to purifying water in a natural and easy way is to use okra, which commonly grows in many underdeveloped nations, to act as a coagulant. A coagulant is a solution that is able to counter act the negative charge of colloidal particulate. This is important because almost all particulate in water, made up of dirt, bacteria, clay, organic material, naturally occurring metals such as arsenic, and other contaminants, are negatively charged. Due to this, the particulate all repel and remain independent and very small particles which inhibits them from settling out or being able to be filtered out. When a coagulant is used, these negative charges are somehow counteracted so that the particulate begins to aggregate or "flocculate" because they no longer are repelling each other. Once the particulate begins to flocculate, the water must be stirred slower and slower to ensure the flocks are not broken up. Then, through time, the flocks will settle on the bottom leaving the water void of particulate. Okra seeds have the potential to make an effective coagulant due to polymer chains found within them.