Every year, 500000 people died after diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water. In some developing countries, access to water treatment is still problematic. In case they exist, chlorine is the most widely used product. Nevertheless, its use creates toxic residues that are potentially carcinogenic for humans. Due to chlorine-based disinfectants inaccessibility in certain areas of developing countries, the use of local disinfectant as an alternative to disinfection must be developed.
Thus this study estimates a potential of lemon juice to be able to disinfect water that contain Escherichia coli. Laboratory tests have allowed to test various parameters such as concentrations in lemon juice, the presence and absence of UV radiation and initial concentration of bacteria.
A certain quantity of lemon juice is introduced in unclear water for a specific amount of time. The results show that E.coli is being reduced by 2 log in the presence of 2 mL of lemon juice in two minutes. Furthermore, the light is a factor influencing the inactivation of the bacteria. With lemon juice, the bacteria were reduced by 1 log in 100 minutes under UV, while the reduction is insignificant under darkness. The inactivation mechanism indicates that the reaction could be a complex phenomenon of order 2.
The use of lemon juice with an additional treatment like UV treatment could be an interesting disinfection option. Further research is needed to ensure quality control for its application in real conditions.
| Date | 11 Jul 2017 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Robert Hausler (Supervisor) |
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Agbota, Y. (Author),
Hausler (Supervisor),
11 Jul 2017Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Environmental Engineering