EFFICACY OF SELECTED SEED EXTRACTS AND GREEN SYNTHESIZED MAGNESIUM OXIDE NANOPARTICLES IN THE REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED WATER
Keywords:
Heavy metals, water remediation, seed powders, magnesium oxide nanoparticles, green synthesis, Heavy Metal Pollution Index.Abstract
Background: Heavy-metal contamination threatens water safety, while conventional treatment methods may be costly in resource-constrained settings. Plant seed powders and green-synthesized magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) offer affordable remediation materials.
Gap: Evidence comparing moringa, pawpaw and orange seed powders with MgONPs, applied individually and in combinations and evaluated using metal-specific removal and the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI), remains limited.
Aim: This study compared the remediation performance of seed powders and green-synthesized MgONPs in multi-metal-contaminated water.
Methods: MgONPs synthesized using Jatropha tanjorensis leaf extract were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Fifteen individual and combined treatments and two controls were evaluated in triplicate for physicochemical properties, nutrients and Cd, Ni, Pb, Hg and Ag. Removal efficiencies and HPI were calculated, and treatment patterns were examined using hierarchical cluster analysis.
Results: Treatment effects varied significantly across physicochemical properties and metals. Pawpaw-orange achieved the strongest broad-spectrum remediation, removing 98.26% Cd, 100% Pb, 99.41% Hg and 100% Ag and recording the lowest HPI (0.211). Pawpaw-MgONPs produced the greatest Ni removal (98.34%). In contrast, MgONPs-orange had an HPI of 2.359 and was not classified as remediated. Several combinations, particularly the complete mixture, increased dissolved and suspended solids, electrical conductivity, hardness and biochemical oxygen demand, demonstrating that metal removal did not necessarily improve water quality.
Conclusion: Seed powders and MgONPs showed treatment-specific remediation potential. Pawpaw-orange was the most promising treatment, but dosage optimization, adsorbent recovery, post-treatment filtration and safety evaluation are required before practical drinking-water application.
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