Adsorption of Oil and Grease in Wastewater using Activated Carbon Derived from Sewage Sludge

Abstract

Oil and grease are organic contaminants that are detrimental to the environment. The high concentration of oil and grease can cause clogging in the sewer. Clogged sewers can deteriorate sanitary conditions. Adsorption is one technique to reduce oil and grease concentration in wastewater. Adsorption using natural resources can overcome the high cost of commercial activated carbon. Sewage sludge has potential as raw material for activated carbon because of the high carbon content. The studies aim to investigate the capability of activated carbon derived from sewage sludge to remove oil and grease from restaurant wastewater. The studies were carried out in the batch experiment. Adsorbent dosage ranged from 2-6 g/L, and a contact time range of 5-45 minutes was performed in the experiment. Sewage sludge was chemically activated using KOH 4M and physically activated at a temperature of 700°C for 60 minutes. The result shows that the optimum adsorbent dosage and contact time are 4 g/L and 25 minutes, respectively. The highest adsorption capacity of sewage sludge to remove oil and grease was 63.75 mg/g. Under observed data, the adsorption fit the second-pseudo-order, and Langmuir isotherm indicated that the adsorption process was chemisorption.