Evaluation of Magnetic Coagulant (α-Fe 2 O 3 -MO) and its Reuse in Textile Wastewater Treatment Tássia Rhuna Tonial dos Santos & Gustavo Affonso Pisano Mateus & Marcela Fernandes Silva & Carolina Sayury Miyashiro & Leticia Nishi & Murilo Barbosa de Andrade & Márcia Regina Fagundes-Klen & Raquel Guttieres Gomes & Rosângela Bergamasco Received: 17 November 2017 /Accepted: 15 February 2018 # Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract The textile industries are characterized as one of the biggest consumers of potable water and chemical products throughout its process, being responsible for the elevated wastewater generation with intense colora- tion and wide polluting potential. In this context, the present study proposes the development and application of a new coagulant material for textile wastewater treat- ment. The proposed coagulant (α-Fe 2 O 3 -MO) was com- posed by hematite nanoparticles (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) obtained by a simple non-pollutant methodology, associated with Moringa oleifera (MO) seeds saline extract compounds. Coagulation/flocculation (CF) efficiency was evaluated by removal of physicochemical parameters such as ap- parent color, turbidity, and compounds with absorption at UV 254nm (UV 254nm ) through CF tests carried out on Jar test equipment and sedimentation carried out in the presence and absence of external magnetic field (600 k Am -1 ). Kinetics sedimentation was from 0 to 90 min. The use of this new coagulant allowed the removal of 92.37% for apparent color, 91.43% for tur- bidity, and 46.09% for UV 254nm , indicating that the proposed coagulant association was efficient in the treat- ment of this type of wastewater under external magnetic field with only 10 min of sedimentation. In addition, the resulting sludge from CF process was tested as base material for a new coagulant synthesis, demonstrating great reuse potential. Therefore, the new proposed co- agulant, composed of α-Fe 2 O 3 and the compounds present in the seed extract of MO, has applicability for textile wastewater treatment demonstrating high remov- al rate for all evaluated parameters with cost reduction in the proposed treatment for this wastewater. Keywords Hematite . Moringa oleifera . Magnetic sedimentation . Textile wastewater 1 Introduction Water is one of the most abundant natural resources on Earth; however, only a small portion of this supply is available for human consumption, especially regarding potable water source contamination, high cost treatment, increasing population demand, and the wide variety of organic and inorganic emerging pollutants involved in different production processes (Adeleye et al. 2016). In this sense, the treatment and reuse of wastewater have become relevant subjects in terms of sustainability Water Air Soil Pollut (2018) 229:92 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3747-8 T. R. T. dos Santos : M. F. Silva : L. Nishi : M. B. de Andrade : R. Bergamasco (*) Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Avenida Colombo, 5790, Bloco D90, Maringá, Paraná CEP: 87020-900, Brazil e-mail: ro.bergamasco@hotmail.com G. A. P. Mateus Department of Biotechnology, Genetics and Cell Biology, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil C. S. Miyashiro : M. R. Fagundes-Klen Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Toledo, Paraná, Brazil R. G. Gomes Department of Food Engineering, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil