School of Chemical

Engineering
Research Proposal
EKC 499: Final Year Project
Title:

Optimization on Preparation
Condition of g. Hylocereus
Foliage Coagulant Using
Response Surface Methodology

Name:

Ahmad Ridhwan Bin Mohd Yunus

Matric Number:

115827

Supervisor:

Prof. Dr Abdul Latif Bin Ahmad

Table of Contents
1.0

Introduction....................................................................................................... 3

1.1

Problem Statement........................................................................................ 4

1.2

Objective........................................................................................................ 4

2.0

Material and Method......................................................................................... 5

2.1 Gant Chart......................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Flowchart........................................................................................................... 6
2.3 Material............................................................................................................. 7
2.4 Preparation of g. glycereus foliage....................................................................7
2.5 Extraction of coagulant g. glycereus foliage.....................................................7
2.5.1 Water........................................................................................................... 7
2.5.2 Alcohol........................................................................................................ 7
2.6 Preparation of Kaolin Water...............................................................................7
2.7 Coagulation Jar Test Experiment........................................................................8
3.0

References........................................................................................................ 9

1.0 Introduction
Coagulation treatment is one of the most important process to treat
wastewater as it can reduced the turbidity of the water and make the
suspended solids easier to settle. The coagulation chemical are used in
effluent water treatment processes for solids removal, water clarification,
lime softening, sludge thickening, and solids dewatering. Coagulants is an
agent that induces curdling and congealing. In wastewater sense, a chemical
that used to reduces the colour and the turbidity of the raw water in the
forms of flocs. It will neutralize the negative electrical charge on particles in
the raw water, which destabilizes the forces that keep colloids apart. The
coagulant are comprised of positively charged molecules which is when the
coagulant is added to the water and mixed, accomplish this charge
neutralization. Nowadays, most coagulant used are chemical based such as
aluminium sulphate, aluminium chloride, combination of polyaluminium
chloride & aluminum chlorohydrate, ferric sulphate and ferric chloride [1].
Because of the coagulant used is mostly chemical based and also
harmful to human, and have corrosion characteristics, the research is about
bio-coagulant which is environment friendly and not hazardous to human.
There is many precedent bio-coagulant that have been research such as
moringa oliveira [2], coccina indica [3], cactus latifaria [4] and cactus
optuntiaa [5]. The bio-coagulant that being used in this research also a
cactus type. It is g. glycereus. Genus Glycereus or Pitaya or Dragon Fruit is a
fruit that produced from a night-blooming cactus. This fruit is edible and
have 3 different type which is Hylocereus Undatus, red-skinned fruit with
white flesh, Hylocereus Costaricensis, red-skinned fruit with red flesh and
Hylocereus Megalanthus, yellow-skinned fruit with white flesh. As the fruit
have many vitamin and many other things that good for human [6], the stem
or foliage is only known as the tree that give dragon fruit. Even though the
foliage represent it whole system, there is no particular usage. A research
2

from I. Juferi (2012) show that the dragon fruit foliage is one of the good biocoagulant [7] [8].

1.1 Problem Statement

The

chemical

coagulant

is

hazardous

to

human,

have

corrosive

characteristics that will make the equipment corrode and not environmental
friendly as it is not biodegradable.

Therefore, bio-coagulant is used to

overcome all of the problem occur by using the g. glycereus foliage. The
advantage of using this foliage is used is this foliage is easy to obtain as
there is no particular usage and Malaysia is one of g. glycereus supplier, not
expensive and not harmful. A research about g. glycereus foliage as a
coagulant is already done and the result is very promising. Therefore, this is
the opportunity to optimize the ability of the g. glycereus foliage with
different methodology which is Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

1.2 Objective
1. To study the effect of g. glycereus foliage as coagulant
2. To optimize the preparation method of g. glycereus.

2.0 Material and Method

2.1 Gant Chart

No
.

Task Name

Selection Project

Literature Review

Proposal

Report 1

Data Analysis

Report 2

Report 3

Viva
Full Report
Submission

Sep
t.

2015
Oc No
t.
v.

De
c.

Ja
n

Fe
b

2016
Ma Ap
r
r

Ma
y

Ju
n

2.2 Flowchart
Optimization theoretically
using response surface
methodology

Preparation of g.
glycereus foliage

Extraction of coagulants
from g. glycereus foliage
Extraction
using
Water

Preparation of Kaolin
Water

Extraction
using
Alcohol

Coagulation Jar test

Experiment

Analytical Analysis

Thesis Writing

2.3 Material
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

G. glycereus foliage
Kaolin
Distilled Water
Ethanol
Jar Tester
Beaker
Turbidimeter
Stirrer
Tap Water

2.4 Preparation of g. glycereus foliage

Dragon fruit foliage will be collected from Kuantan smallholder in
Pahang, Malaysia. Its thorns are removed and the foliage is subsequently
washed, cut, and dried at

80 C . It is blended into fine powder and sieved

to a particle size range of 0.451.25 mm [8].

2.5 Extraction of coagulant g. glycereus foliage

2.5.1 Water
The dried foliage is put into a beaker. It is then soaked with distilled
water and let it on standing for one day.
2.5.2 Alcohol
The dried foliage is put into a beaker. It is then soaked with distilled
water and let it on standing for one day.

2.6 Preparation of Kaolin Water

Kaolin is prepared measured by 10 g to 1 L of tap water. 10 g of kaolin

is soaked with tap water in a beaker. The beaker is stirred for 1 hour then let
on standing for 1 day

2.7 Coagulation Jar Test Experiment

Coagulation jar test experiment is performed in laboratory with a jar
tester that comprises 4-paddle rotor for 500 mL beaker. The entire test is
conduct in room temperature. 500mL of kaolin water is poured into each of
the 4 beaker. The desired amount of coagulant was added to the suspension
and stirred at rapid mixing (120 rpm) for 1 minute. The mixing time and
speed were recorded. The speed of stirrer was reduced to slow mixing (30
rpm) for 20 minutes to keep flocs particles uniformly suspended. The paddles
were then withdrawn and settling of flocs particles was observed and
recorded. The mixture was left for 1 hour and then the supernatant was
collected to be used in the determination of the COD, SS, and turbidity using
the standard method.

3.0 References
[1 Chemtreat, "Coagulants & Flocculants," Chemtreat, [Online]. Available:
] http://www.chemtreat.com/solutions/chemical-treatment-programs/wastewaterchemicals/coagulants-flocculants/. [Accessed 20 October 2015].
[2 WELL, Water Calrification Using Moringa Oleifera Seed Coagulant, Water and
] Environmental Health at London Loughborough.
[3 C. N. Rani, "Enhancing Filtrate Quality of Turbid Water Incorporating Seeds of
] Strychnos Potatorum, Pads of Cactus Opuntia And Mucilage Extracted from the
fruits of Coccinia Indica as Coagulants," Environmental Research and
Development, vol. 7, no. 2, 2012.
[4 J. D. P. Theodoro, "Coagulants and Natural Polymers: Perspective for the
] Treatment of Water," Plastic and Polymer Technology, vol. 2, no. 3, 2013.
[5 Y. A. E. I. Noughbode, "Evaluation of the Opuntia Dillenii as Natural Coagulant in
] Water Clarification: Case of Treatment of Highly Turbid Surface Water," Water
Resource and Protection, vol. 2013, no. 5, pp. 1242-1246, 2013.
[6 Provital Group, "Dragon Fruit," Natural Efficacy.
]
[7 I. S. A. M. R. Shafad, "A Preliminary Study on Dragon Fruit Foliage as Natural
] Coagulant for Water Treatment," Engineering Research & Technology, vol. 2, no.
12, 2013.
[8 J. Idris, "Dragon Fruit Foliage Plant-Based Coagulant for Treatment of
] Concentrated Latex Effluent: Comparison of Treatment with Ferric SUlfate,"
Journal of Chemistry, vol. 2013, 2012.