Removal of Heavy Metals from Water and Wastewater Using Moringa oleifera

Abstract

One of the contaminants in wastewater is the heavy metals. Treatment of heavy metals is of great importance because they can be harmful and dangerous for human being health. Conventional removal methods used include: ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, solvent extraction, sedimentation, and chemical precipitation, and each method has some disadvantages besides high costs. In this chapter, Moringa oleifera cake residue, Moringa oleifera press cake, and Moringa oleifera leaves are introduced as a proposed alternative to replace conventional methods for heavy metal ions’ removal. The results of using Moringa oleifera cake residue showed that iron (Fe) was fully removed; copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) were successfully removed up to 98% and reduction of lead (Pb) of 82.17%. The heavy metals were successfully reduced using Moringa oleifera press cake. The removal percentage of iron, copper, and chromium reached 69.99%, 88.86%, and 93.73%, respectively. Moringa oleifera leaves were used to remove Cd (II) from synthetic water; the optimization was performed and each parameter was affecting the Cd (II) removal with different percentages, but pH was insignificant. As a conclusion, the Moringa oleifera seeds and leaves can be considered as a promising alternative in water treatment for heavy metal ions removal.