Odour testing using moringa carbon

Provision of safe and potable drinking water to urban communities is a challenge to professionals in many low and middle income countries (WEDC, 1996). The situation is aggravated in those under-developed countries where agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Fertilisers are extensively used in these countries and this leads to increased run-off of nutrients into surface water sources, with the negative consequence of prolific algal growths in the receiving waters. In Malawi, surface waters are the main source of drinking water, with only a small percentage of the supply being drawn from groundwater supplies. These surface waters are invariably infested with algae. This paper assesses the degree of odour removal at a conventional water treatment plant (Lilongwe Water Works, Malawi) and a direct filtration plant (Blantyre water works, Malawi). The effect of ageing in a rapid gravity sand filter was also investigated to assess its effectiveness in odour removal as the filter-run progressed.