Preparation and Characterization of Cocoa Shell - Pahae Natural Zeolite as a Metal Adsorption Material for Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) in Water

Abstract

Research has been conducted on an adsorber made from cocoa shell activated charcoal and Pahae Natural Zeolite, designed as an absorber for Fe and Mn metals in well water purification. The cocoa shell were screened with a 100-mesh sieve, followed by carbonization to generate activated charcoal. In parallel, Pahae Natural Zeolite underwent a similar sieving process with a 100-mesh screen and was subsequently chemically activated using a 2.5 M NaOH solution. The compositions of the cocoa shell activated charcoal - Pahae Natural Zeolite adsorber were varied as follows (wt%): 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25. These mixtures were then compressed using a hydraulic press with a load of 6 tons for a duration of 10 minutes. The resulting samples underwent physical activation at different temperatures (300°C, 320°C, 340°C) for 30 minutes. The adsorber was subjected to characterization to ascertain its physical properties (porosity, adsorption capacity, density), mechanical properties (compressive strength and hardness), surface morphology, and elemental composition (SEM-EDX). The outcomes of the tests demonstrated the efficacy of the cocoa shell activated charcoal - zeolite based adsorber in significantly reducing iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) levels, with a remarkable reduction in Fe content by 99.76% and Mn content by 99.70%.