Speaker
Prof.
Adrian Rennie
(Uppsala University)
Description
Pure water is essential for good health. It is necessary for food preparation and sanitation. Supply of water is still a major challenge and technology that can be used without specialist support in remote and rural areas is still needed in many countries. An extract from the seeds of the *Moringa oleifera* tree that is principally a low molecular mass protein is known to be efficient as a coagulating agent for water purification. A purification process based on traditional methods used in tropical and sub-tropical Africa is attracting interest for wider use as a sustainable, environmentally friendly technology. Flocs have been investigated by small-angle scattering and ultra small-angle scattering [1]. The structure of adsorbed layers at different oxide surfaces such as silica and alumina has been investigated by neutron reflection [2]. The studies have identified that very compact flocs of impurity particles can be formed that are easy to separate. The amount of protein required to cover various different surfaces and the structure of interfacial layers has been determined. These results allow optimisation of the water purification and the process attracts interest at present in a number of countries.
1. M S. Hellsing, *et al*. *Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects* **460**, (2014), 460-467
2. H. M. Kwaambwa, M. S. Hellsing and A. R. Rennie *Langmuir* **26**, (2010), 3902-3910.
| Topic Area / Session | General Food Science |
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Primary authors
Prof.
Adrian Rennie
(Uppsala University)
Prof.
Habauka Kwaambwa
(Namibia University of Science & Technology)
Dr
Maja Hellsing
(Uppsala University)
