Regulation of Color, pH, and Biochemical Oxygen Demand of Asa River Water Using a Luffa cylindrica Biomass Packed Bed

Asa River is of strategic importance to the citizens of Ilorin, Nigeria, because it meets the basic water needs of the community and its surroundings. The river is however polluted and requires some form of treatment before it can be used. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of a Luffa cylindrica biomass packed bed for the remediation of color and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and the pH regulation of Asa river water. The fibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). FTIR modification only led to slight changes in the functional groups of the fibers. EDS revealed some changes in the fiber composition due to NaOH modification. The inorganics present were all less than 5% (except for calcium in the modified fibers). SEM revealed a very plain surface of the fibers. The color was reduced from 9.88 to 4.7 TCU and 4.37 TCU for the unmodified and modified fibers respectively after 2 h. Both fiber types were able to effectively regulate the pH to the acceptable 6.5–8.5 threshold after 2 h. The BOD was reduced from 3.7 to 2.8 mg/L and 1.7 mg/L for the unmodified and modified fibers respectively after 2 h. Both color and pH were reduced below WHO permissible limit by the current set-up. Fiber modification improved the packed bed performance for color and BOD reduction.