TITLE:
Testing the Efficiency of Acacia Bark (Galool-Asal) as Disinfectant for Polluted Waters
AUTHORS:
M. K. Fayyad
KEYWORDS:
Acacia Bark; Water Disinfection; Disinfection Efficiency; E. coli; Polluted Water; Drinking Water Availability
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.6 No.3,
February
25,
2014
ABSTRACT: Acacia bark
efficiency for disinfecting polluted water for the purpose of using it for
drinking purposes was tested. Five polluted water samples were collected from
different locations in Jordan, namely, King Abdullah Canal, an Agricultural
pond in the Jordan Valley, Yajouz wells, Hazeir spring, and Wadi-Seer spring.
Different volumes of the water samples were treated with 10 g of the shredded acacia
bark (obtained from Somalia) for different retention times. The volumes used
were 1 L, 2.5 L, and 5 L and the detention times were 2, 4, and 24 hours. The
samples were tested for total coliform, E. coli, electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids,
turbidity and color before and after treatment with the acacia bark. Results
revealed that the optimum conditions for disinfection were: 1 L polluted water
treated with 10 g acacia bark for 24 hours. Log removals of about 2.5 for E. coli were obtained under
these conditions. Higher removals could be achieved by using larger amounts of
the acacia bark, but the chemical water quality regarding turbidity and color
will not be suitable for drinking purposes and levels of tannic acids present
in the acacia bark might reach toxic levels. Toxic levels will not be reached
if 1 glass of water/kg body weight every 4 - 5 hours daily is consumed.