Background: Nitrate is an acute and well-known hazardous contaminant, and its contamination of water sources has been a growing concern worldwide in recent years. This study evaluated the feasibility of nitrate removal from water using the traditional coagulants alum and ferric chloride with lower concentrations than those used in the conventional coagulation process.Methods: In this research, two coagulants, alum and ferric chloride, were compared for their efficiency in removing nitrate in a conventional water treatment system. The removal process was done in a batch system (jar test) to examine the effects of coagulant dosages and determine the conditions required to achieve optimum results.Results: The results revealed that ferric chloride at an initial dose rate of 4 mg/L reduced nitrate concentration from 70 mg/L to less than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value (50 mg/L N-NO3). However, the removal efficiency of alum was not salient to significant nitrate reduction.Conclusion: In conclusion, ferric chloride was more effective than alumin removing NO-3, even in common dosage range, and can be considered a cost-effective and worthy treatment option to remediate nitrate-polluted water. Furthermore, the removal of nitrate by coagulation can be simple and more economical than other treatment alternatives.

Background and objective: Potassium alum, called “Zaj-e-abyaz” in Iranian traditional medicine, is used vaginally in traditional clinics as an astringent agent for uterine fibroids. Before evaluating its efficacy, it is necessary to prepare a suitable dosage form and assess the possible irritation in animal model which was the aim of the current research. Methods: Vaginal suppositories were prepared using 400 mg potassium alum, 200 mg honey and different proportions of poly ethylene glycol (PEG) 600, 1000 and 4000 in each suppository. The best formulation was used for evaluation of possible irritation in rabbit. The suppositories were used in rabbit’s perineum daily for 5 consecutive days in 3 albino rabbits and the appearance of the vaginal opening and perineum for signs of erythema and edema were recorded every day. The final results were calculated as a primary irritation index (PII). Results: The best formulation contained potassium alum 20%, honey 10%, PEG 600 18%, PEG 1000 12%, PEG 4000 30% and water 10%. According to the animal test, the irritation of the vaginal mucus membrane was considered moderate in rabbits. Conclusion: Regarding the results, potassium alum could not be used in form of suppository in PEG vehicle and other formulations should be prepared for acquiring the least irritation.

Because of its tunable physical and chemical properties, bio-polymeric hydrogels have attracted increasing attention in biomaterials research because they can be used as sustainable and bioactive matrix in many applications such as drug release and dye recovery. Three formulations of hydrogels (F1, F2 and F3) based gum Arabic (GA) with different content of potassium alum (PA) (0.0, 0.002 and 0.200 grams of PA, respectively) were prepared by using solution-casting technique. A combination of spectroscopic (UV & FTIR) and hygroscopic techniques were applied to investigate the effect of PA content on the physicochemical properties of prepared hydrogels. FTIR spectra confirmed that hydrogels were successfully blended. It was noted that with increasing content of alum the moisture and gel contents increased, while swelling ratio decreased specially at pH 11. The highest value of mechanical parameter (elongation) was determined for the hydrogel containing the maximum amount of PA, i.e. F3 (1202 %). Thus, it could be concluded that for this system the highest crosslinking density has been achieved.

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful ulcers of oral mucosal which can cause many sufferings. Treatment of RAS often includes administration of corticosteroids, analgesics and regulators of the immune system. However, considering the side effects of these medications, even their topical application must be done with caution. Alum is used in traditional medicine for treatment of oral ulcers without significant side effect. This study sought to assess the effect of topical application of alum on aphthous ulcers.Methods: This clinical randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted on 50 females aged 21 to 27 years. Mucosal adhesive patches were prepared in two forms of basic and 7% alum-containing patches. Subjects in two groups of case and control randomly received the mucosal adhesive patches containing alum and the basic patches, respectively three times in five days. Duration of recovery, changes in size of lesion and severity of pain were recorded. Data were entered into SPSS Version 16 and analyzed using t-test.Results: The average period of full recovery was 7.52 days in the case and 12.2 days in the control groups; which was significantly different (p<0.001). Size of wound and severity of pain were significantly lower at one, three and five days posttreatment compared to baseline values before treatment in the case group (p<0.001) and the difference in this regard between the case and control groups was statistically significant.Conclusion: Alum can significantly decrease the size of aphthous lesions, severity of pain and expedite the recovery of patients with RAS.

The alkalinity plays an important role in phosphorus removal using coagulant. The dosage of coagulant in the low alkalinity wastewater is limited due to rapid pH changes. In the present study, a series of jar test was conducted using low alkalinity wastewater (50 mg/L) to evaluate the optimum pH, dosage and performance parameters (slow mixing and settling time) for the common coagulant alum. From the experiment, it was found that the dosage of coagulant and removal of phosphorus depend upon the pH of the wastewater after adding coagulant. The final optimum pH for efficient P removal was found to be within the range of 5.7-5.9. This range acts as an indicator and it is the maximum tolerable pH range for phosphorus removal for low alkalinity wastewater. The optimum time for slow mix and settling was found to be 20 min. The optimum mole ratio of alum to remove one mole of phosphorous was found to be 2.3. The alum coagulation at pH 7 produced effluent with the total residual phosphorus and reactive phosphorus content of 0.3 and 0.9 mg/L, respectively.