ABSTRACT This study examines the potential of two natural biomaterials, Opuntia extract (OpEx) and Agave extract (AgEx), as eco‐friendly coagulants and flocculants for wastewater treatment in semi‐arid Algeria. Four experimental phases were conducted using the Jar Test method to evaluate their effectiveness. Initial tests identified ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ) as the most effective chemical coagulant, achieving a turbidity reduction (TR%) of approximately 90% with an optimal dosage of 0.4 g in 30 min. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that the combination of FeCl 3 and biomaterials significantly improved performance, with AgEx achieving a TR of 99.87% for a volume of 3 mL, whereas OpEx reached a TR of 92.91% for a volume of 1 mL. An in‐depth evaluation showed that when tested separately, the OpEx had the highest overall performance. It reduced turbidity by 85.35% with a dose of 2.5 mL, acting as a coagulant and a flocculant at the same time. In the final phase, evaluations of AgEx and OpEx combinations indicated that OpEx, used as a flocculant, provided the best performance with a TR of 82.60%. These results highlight the effectiveness of OpEx and AgEx as viable alternatives to conventional chemical coagulants in wastewater treatment, particularly in semi‐arid regions like Naama, Algeria. The application of these biomaterials could enhance water resource management and promote environmental sustainability.
Souad et al. (Sun,) studied this question.