Paper Title
Optimisation Studies on Coagulation-Flocculation of Leachate using Tamarind Seeds

Abstract
The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of tamarind seed powder as a coagulant in the treatment of leachate. Tamarind seed powder possesses a number of virtues such as non-toxicity, abundance in resources, low price, and biodegradability. Groundwater is the most important source of water. Unfortunately, groundwater is susceptible to contamination due to leachate from the landfills. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to the generation of thousands of tons per day of municipal solid waste, ultimately leading to open dump yards. Leachate generated from these dump yards contains a high concentration of pollutants which can have adverse effects on the environment, if not properly treated. It could be a potential source of surface and groundwater contamination as it may percolate through soils and sub-soils. As safe and eco-friendly disposal of leachate is the need of the hour, the present project aims at the treatment of the leachate by coagulation-flocculation using tamarind seed powder. Coagulation-flocculation is a simple physical-chemical technique in the treatment stabilized leachate. The leachate sample was collected from the leachate collection tanks of the sanitary landfill located in the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant, Vellalore, Coimbatore and characterized. The tamarind seed powder was prepared and characterized by particle size, zeta potential, FTIR spectroscopy. Jar test apparatus was used to optimize the operating variables viz. coagulant dosage, pH, coagulant size. The results showed that the TOC and total solids removal efficiencies were 68% and 47% respectively. The optimum coagulant dosage, Coagulant size, and pH were found to be 0.8 g/L, 472 nm, 8. Cost comparative studies were done for tamarind seed powder and alum. Keywords- Physicochemical parameters, degradation, and pollution, restoration of water, qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical pollutants.