Using <i>Moringa</i> Seeds as Coagulants in Developing Countries

A few traditional plant flocculants such as those found in Moringa seeds have been observed to act as primary coagulants and have been recommended for domestic water treatment in rural areas of Africa and Asia, where people cannot afford conventional coagulants. Once a plant has been shown to possess outstanding clarifying properties, applied taxonomy and selective breeding can help in the identification of sources of even more potent flocculants and in the production of the best “flocculant crop” for a particular situation. The process of identifying potential natural flocculants and of managing crops, as well as methods of optimizing simplified water coagulation with plant materials, are described.