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Wastewater treatment has become a global environmental challenge due to the use of synthetic chemicals. Naturally derived molecules offer a sustainable alternative to these synthetic products. In this study, plantain peel is used as a natural coagulant-flocculant in the wastewater treatment process. To do this, extracts of ripe and unripe banana peels were prepared. The main chemical constituents were identified using characteristic reagents. The total oses, total phenolic compounds, and condensed tannins were measured using the phenol-sulfuric acid, Folin-Ciocalteu, and vanillin methods in an acidic medium, respectively. Finally, the flocculant-coagulant properties of the different aqueous extracts were evaluated using the Jar Test method. The yields of dry crude extracts were 17.91% and 25.4% for ripe and unripe banana peels, respectively. Qualitative chemical tests revealed the presence of polysaccharides, alkaloids, tannins, and lignins in both extracts. The various assays performed showed that ripe banana peels contain significant levels of total oses, total phenolic compounds, and condensed tannins, with values of 621.297 μg EG/mg, 72.514 μg EAG/mg, and 17.315 μg EC/mg of dry extract, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analyses of the two plantain peel extracts qualitatively revealed the presence of certain functional groups characteristic of polysaccharides and phenolic compounds. The evaluation of flocculant-coagulant properties showed a better reduction of wastewater turbidity with a reduction rate of 96.93% and 88.81% at pH = 2 for concentrations of 40 μg/mL and 60 μg/mL of dry extracts from ripe and unripe banana peels, respectively.
Keywords: wastewater, banana peels, polysaccharides, coagulant-flocculant, Jar Test, heavy metals