Effectiveness of Powder Tamarind Seeds (Tamarindus indica L.) as a Natural Coagulant in the Treatment of Peat Water Turbidity

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 55584, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: rudy.syahputra@uii.ac.id

Abstract

Peat water is one of the alternative water sources found in swamp areas and tropical rainforests. However, its use as a source of clean water has several limitations, as it generally has a low pH, a dark brown to blackish color due to the presence of humic and fulvic acids, and a high turbidity level. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of tamarind seeds (Tamarindus indica L.) as a natural coagulant in reducing the turbidity and color of peat water. The tamarind seeds were processed into powder with a particle size of 250 mesh. Coagulation was carried out with rapid mixing at 100 rpm for 5 minutes, followed by flocculation at 30 rpm for 30 minutes. The doses used varied: 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 g per 500 mL of peat water sample. The effectiveness of the coagulation-flocculation process was determined based on the parameters of turbidity reduction, TDS, light intensity, Sludge Volume Index (SVI), Sludge Mass (SM), and floc characteristics.