American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 3 No.

3; March 2013

Determination of the Filter Potential of Luffa Sponge (luffa aegyptiaca) in Water

Quality Analysis

Adie D.B
Igboro S.B
Daouda N
Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria – Nigeria

Eladere E
Department of Civil Engineering
Kaduna Polytechnic, Nigeria

Abstract
Surface water is unprotected and exposed to the vagaries of weather and environmental pollution and therefore,
the possibility of contamination. The main target of water treatment is the removal of chemical and
bacteriological contamination and inactivation of disease causing organisms. A filter model with luffa sponge as
filter media was tested for its effectiveness in the purification of water. The experimental work was conducted on
selected luffa sponge in a plate form inserted in a Perspex plastic filter model that has been designed for this
purpose. The filter medium (luffa sponge) was placed in the four separated chambers starting from the more
porous to the least one in the direction of flow. The system was operated in series. Each compartment was
separated by a cascade and the sponges were held in place to avoid the deformation of the filter media. The filter
bed was provided with an under drain system for flushing after a certain running time. It was observed that luffa
sponge has high hydraulic efficiency and that the horizontal filter is more efficient than the vertical filter.
However, it only has a moderate TSS removal capacity due to its high porosity value. It was calculated that the
filter media performance efficiency was 18.15% for turbidity removal, 48.33% for TSS, 10% for hardness, 0%
for alkalinity, 16% for chloride, 16.66% for ammonia nitrogen and 80% for bacterial removal. The study
showed that the luffa aegyptiaca (cylindrica) sponge possesses a great potential for heavy metals removal in
water as well as hardness and microbiological reductions. Because of these advantages and the fact that it
performed poorly in the reduction of parameters of importance in potable water quality, it is concluded that the
luffa sponge filter media can be considered as a preliminary wastewater roughing filter, but cannot adequately be
used as a filter media for potable water supply. However, the size of the sponge limits the filter size and its fibrous
nature offers high degree of porosity

1. Introduction
Surface water is unprotected and exposed to the vagaries of weather and environmental pollution and therefore,
the possibility of contamination. The main target of water treatment is the removal of chemical and
bacteriological contamination and inactivation of disease causing organisms (Mukhopadhay et al., 2008)
Water is essential for life and socio-economic development of man. It is also life sustaining for animals and plant.
The water required has to be adequate both in quality and in quantity. The properties of water are strikingly
different from those of other substances in both its physical, biological and chemical nature. Therefore, the
requirement for potable water, taking into cognizance these factors, is of consideration in the design of all the
water supply units including the intakes, treatment plant and pipeline of the distribution system. Water quality
problems are responsible for 30,000 deaths daily (WHO and UNICEF, 2006) and over 25,000 kinds of water
borne diseases have been identified (UNICEF, 2006).

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Water is treated for a number of reasons of which the removal of disease germs is the most important. The need
for treatment arises because of the presence in water of bacteria, colour, taste, odour, hardness, floating material,
suspended solids and dissolved metallic salts. Potable water should also have good appearance. It should also be
suitable for domestic uses like cooking; washing etc. The degree of treatment required depends upon the type of
impurities carried by water. Surface water may be from lakes, rivers or canals.
Water bodies are being overwhelmed with bacteria and waste matter. Among toxic substances, reaching
hazardous levels are heavy metals (Robinson, 1998). Heavy metals occur in immobilized form in sediments and
as ores in the nature. However due to various human activities like ore mining and industrial processes the natural
biogeochemical cycle is disrupted causing increased deposition of heavy metals in the terrestrial and aquatic
environment. The heavy metals are of public health concern as they are non-biodegradable and persistent.
Through a process of biomagnification they further accumulate in food chains. Thus, their treatment becomes
inevitable and in this endeavor, biosorption seems to be a promising alternative for treating metal contaminated
waters.
Biosorption can be defined as “a non-directed physico-chemical interaction that may occur between metal radio-
nuclide species and microbial cells” (Hima et al., 2007). It is a biological method of environmental control and
can be an alternative to conventional contaminated water facilities. It also offers several advantages over the
conventional treatment methods such as activated sludge process, lagoons, etc. Other advantages include cost
effectiveness, efficiency, minimization of chemical/biological sludge, requirement of additional nutrients, and
generation of biosorbent with possibility of metal recovery. Biosorption process involves a solid phase (sorbent or
biosorbent; usually a biological material) and a liquid phase (solvent, normally water) containing a dissolved
species to be adsorbed (sorbate, a metal ion) (Hima et al., 2003)
In filtration, water is passed through a filter medium in order to remove the particulate matter not previously
removed by sedimentation. There are several functions involved; one is simply the building up of floc layer on the
surface of the filter which in itself acts as a filter media. The second is the penetration of the floc into the bed
where tubes of penetration and further branch tubes are developed through which the water flows, leaving behind
the particle of suspended matter. Luffa sponges are the fibrous interiors of the fruits of luffa plant (luffa
cylindrica). The luffa plant has oval leaves of five to seven lobes, dentate, accumulate and dark green. They are
10 to 30 cm long and 5 to 25 cm wide. The fruits are regularly cylindrical, sometime striped and pale green in
colour. When they are dried, a network of fibers is released and forms the luffa sponge that is about 30 to 60 cm
long and 8 to 10 cm wide Luffa fibers have various industrial uses, more especially as engine filters and as shock
and sound absorbers.
Luffa sponge products are available in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The popularity of luffa for
personal hygiene products is due to the gentle exfoliating effect the fibers have on the skin. Many
environmentally conscious consumers appreciate that luffa product are biodegradable, natural and a renewable
resource (Mazali et al., 2005; Bal and Lallam, 2004). It is chemically composed of 60% cellulose, 30%
hemicelluloses and 10% lignin. The mature, dry fruit consist of a hard shell surrounding a stiff, dense network of
cellulose fibers, adopted for support and dispersal of hundred of flat, smooth black seeds. In addition, studies have
proved that luffa sponge have an aspect of biosorption of heavy metals, high fidelity calcium carbonate and
hydroxyapatite. Inorganic replicas of the fibrous network of the dried fruit of luffa cylindrica have been
replicated, utilizing a facile synthetic route. Luffa sponge has a highly complex macroscopic architecture template
and is an inexpensive sustainable resource (Iqbal and Edyvean, 2004).
The aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of luffa cylindrica as a filter material, especially in
regards to its physical, chemical, biological properties and its ability to reduce dissolved heavy metals in water by
adsorption.
For this purpose a filter model with luffa sponge as filter media was tested for its effectiveness in the purification
of water. The experimental work was conducted on selected luffa sponge in a plate form inserted in a Perspex
glass filter model that was designed for this purpose.

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2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials
(a)Water quality test
Series of tests were carried both on the influent and effluent at each chamber outlet. Physical, chemical and
Biological test were carried out in the laboratory using standard methods (APHA, 1995). Equipments such as
Thermometer, Lovibond Comparator, Turbidimeter, pH meter and digital conductivimeter were used. Other
equipment are Oven, Autoclave and Incubator were also used. While glassware employed are Burettes, pipettes,
reflux flask, conical flask, measuring cylinders, volumetric flask, test tubes and evaporation dish were used. In
addition Buffer solution, potassium dichromate and other reagents were also used.
(b) Filter model and design
A pilot filter model was constructed to investigate the efficiency of luffa sponge in the filtering process. The
model structure was made from fiber glass sheeting. The model consisted of 4 chambers each with dimension of
8.5 cm ×18cm ×14cm.
The filter medium (luffa sponge), was placed in three locations in the four separated chambers starting from the
more porous to the lesser one in the direction of flow (i.e. 3. 6. and 9 sponges respectively). The Luffa sponge
obtained was cut to size and light pressed to shape to fit into the compartment provided
The system was operated in series. Each compartment was separated by a cascade and the sponges were held in
place to avoid the deformation of the filter media. The filter bed was provided with an under drain system for
flushing after certain running time. This is to facilitate sludge extraction by observing the filter resistance. A
constant flow rate was maintained in all the compartments. The suspended solid (SS) concentration of raw water
for the chambers at the inlet and the outlet was measured. Raw water from Kubanni River was used because of its
suspended and dissolved solid content which is greater than 40mg/l. According to Weglin’s (1996) guideline the
water sample is of medium range concentration, since 100-300 mg/l is recommended for river water.
2.2 Methods
(a) Sampling technique
A systematic sampling technique is adopted in the selection of dried luffa sponge. The sponge was cut
longitudinally, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, thoroughly washed under tap water, and left for 24 hours
in distilled water, changed three to four times. The luffa sponges were oven dried at 70º and autoclaved for 20
minutes.
(b) Filter media characteristics
(i) Porosity: The sponge pore sizes were measured under dried condition. The values are obtained from the
formula.
Porosity = (1)

(ii) Specific gravity

This is calculated from equation (2)
Specific gravity = weighed sample mass/sample volume (2)
(iii) Filtration flow: This was determined based on filtration rate. This was determined by obtaining the inflow
and outflow rates during the filtration process.
(iv) Retention time: This is the time it takes for the water to complete one batch filtration process. This was
determined by:
T‫=٭‬ (3)
Where, A= surface area of the tank (m2); Q = flow through tank,( m3/s); D=dept of the tank (m).
(c) Chemical test
These following tests were conducted under chemical analysis:
(i) Total suspended solid: TSS test results were used as a measure of performance of treatment process.
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This was determined by the use of membrane filters to assess the amount solid particles in water samples.
Suspended solid (mg/l) = w1w2 (4)
Where, w2 =weight of evaporated dish (mg/l)
W1 =final weight of evaporated dish and residue (mg/l)

(ii) Alkalinity: The alkalinity of the samples was obtained from the formula:
Total alkalinity= (5)
Where:
A = Volume of acid used for blank
N = Normality of acid used 0.02
B = Volume acid used for sample.
(iii) Chloride in water: The Mohr’s method was used to determine the chloride amount in water.
Cl (mg/l) = (6)
Where,
A= ml of titrant for sample
N=Normality of silver nitrate solution (N=0.0282)
d) Determination of Ammonia Nitrogen

(iv) Determination of Hardness: This was determined by the use of total hardness given by the
formula:
Mg/l Caco3 = (7)

Where, A = ml of titrant; B = ml CaCo3 equivalent to 1.00 ml EDTA titrant.

(v) Dissolved Oxygen/ Biochemical Oxygen Demand: Determined by:

BOD5 = [Do D5] ×P (8)
Where;
Do = zero day dissolved oxygen
D5 =5 days dissolved oxygen, and
P= fraction for dilution = (9)

(d) Microbial and biological examination

The Serial Dilution Technique and Most Probable Number (MPN) method was used for the analysis. This method
involves dilution of water samples in order to reduce by a known amount, the number of bacteria to make
counting possible. In each of the tubes, the dilution is 10 times greater than the one before it and this also applies
to the number of bacteria in the water. Depending on the volume of water incubated (0.1 or 1ml), the number of
bacteria per given volume was calculated.
(e) Data Analysis
The conceptual filter theory for evaluating the efficiency of the filter is used. This method was based on the
filtration theory described by Weglin (1996).
According to the available filter theories and Fick’s law, the filter efficiency can be expressed by the filter
coefficient λ or,
= –λc (10)
Where c = solid concentration, λ= filter coefficient or coefficient of proportionality
x = filter depth.
From eqn. 9, it can be stated that the removal of the suspended particles is proportional to the concentration of the
particles present in water.

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The total length of the filter can be described as the number of parallel plates and act as a multistage reactor. This
allows the performance of the luffa sponge filter to be ascertained on the basis of the results obtained from the
small filter cells. The total suspended solids concentration after length Δx of the filter cell can be expressed:
Coutlet = ∑Cinlet е–λiΔx (11)
Where,
λi = Filter efficiency of each filter cell,
Δx = Length of experimental filter cell
Cinlet and Coutlet = Concentration of particles in the inlet and outlet of the filter.

After evaluating the filter depth (length), the filter efficiency can be predicted. According to Weglin (1996), the
effluent quality for the n number of compartment is given by,
Ce = Co×E1×E2×E3×……..×En (12)
Where, Co = concentration of TSS in the influent.
Ce =concentration of TSS in the effluent.
E1, E2………..En = filtration efficiency for each compartments (1, 2, 3 …n; respectively)
The basic expression for the above relationship is given by;
Ce = Coе–λl (13)

The filter efficiency is given by: E = = е–λl (14)

3. Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the summary of laboratory results carried out. Filtrate 1 had 3 sponges installed in each
compartment; filtrate 2 had 6 sponges in each compartment, while filtrate 3 had 9 sponges installed. The peak
reduction shows the percentage reduction in parameter value between raw water and filtrate water quality using
the stated number of sponges.
Figures 1 to 3 shows results of the change in turbidity against the number of sponges, variation of bacteria colony
with respect to the number of sponges and the variation of total suspended solids with respect to sponge number
respectively.
Luffa sponge has a moderate TSS removal capacity due to its high porosity value. It was calculated that the filter
media performance efficiency was 18.15% for turbidity removal, 48.33% for TSS, 10% for hardness, 0% for
alkalinity, 16% for chloride, 16.66% for ammonia nitrogen and 80% for bacterial removal.
Table 1: Summary of laboratory test results in the experiment
Parameters Concentration/intensity Peak
Raw Filtrate1 Filtrate2 Filtrate3 Reductions
(3 sponges) (6 sponges) (9 sponges)
pH 7.85 7.86 8.00 8.47
EC 130μmhos/cm 130μmhos/cm 140μmhos/cm 140μmhos/cm
Physical TSS 120mg/l 100mg/l 86mg/l 62mg/l 48.33%
Color 15NSA 15NSA 10NSA 5NSA 66.66%
Turbidity 39.10NTU 36.10NTU 36NTU 32NTU 18.15%
Hardness 42mg/l 36mg/l - - 10%
Chloride 88.62mg/l 74.44mg/l - - 16%
Chemical Ammonia 12NAB 10NAB - - 16.66%
Nitrogen
Alkalinity 2mg/l 2mg/l 0%
BOD 0.2mg/l 0.2mg/l 0.17mg/l 0.15mg/l 25%
Heavy metal Chromium 0.82mg/l - - 0.28mg/l 65.85%
Cadmium 0.13mg/l - - 0.091mg/l 30%
Zinc 0.41mg/l - - 0.151mg/l 63.17%
Nickel 0.3mg/l - - 0.08mg/l 73.3%
Biological MPN 50 40 30 10 80%
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Figure 1: Variation of turbidity with respect to number of sponges

Figure 2: Variation of bacteria colony with respect to number of sponges

Figure 3: Variation of total suspended solids with respect to number of sponges

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The results show that the luffa sponge has a very good capacity of purifying water from harmful micro-organism
and heavy metals. The medium range of total suspended solid removal capacity and the insignificant BOD
removal show us that the luffa sponge can be better used in wastewater pre-purification than in potable water
supply; this is because of its low percentage removal of turbidity, as well as hardness, alkalinity, chloride and
ammonia nitrogen. These parameters have great importance in potable water quality. The alkalinity property of
the luffa sponge can serve as pH regulator for very acidic wastewater.

4. Conclusion
The study showed that the luffa cylindrica sponge possess a great potential for heavy metals removal in water as
well as hardness and microbiological reductions. Because of these advantages and the fact that it performed
poorly in the reduction of parameters of importance in potable water quality, it is concluded that the luffa sponge
filter media can be considered as a preliminary wastewater roughing filter, but cannot adequately be used as a
filter media for potable water supply. However, the size of the sponge limits the filter size and its fibrous nature
offers high degree of porosity.

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