Preparation of hydrilla verticillata activated carbon adsorbent for remediation of wastewater containing the active metal chromium

Abstract

Abstract This research aims to determine the capacity of Hydrilla Verticillata activated carbon adsorbent in absorbing the heavy metal chromium. The method used in making Hydrilla Verticillata activated carbon is by carbonization at a temperature of 3000C and chemically activated. Activated carbon was contacted with a solution of the heavy metal chromium with a concentration of 100 ppm with contact times of 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The structure of hydrilla verticillata active carbon from the XRD results is graphite and BET BJH characterization data shows that activated carbon has a surface area of 53.143 m2/g, an average pore size of 0.2764 nm and a pore volume of 0.0789 cc/g. The SEM- Edx characterization results show that the size distribution is not homogeneous but forms agglomerations like plate particles consisting of slitted pores. Test results using AAS show that the ability of hydrilla verticillata activated carbon to remediate the heavy metal chromium based on contact time is around 47.35%, 46.77%, 49.08%, 54.85%, 61.30% and 69.69% and the adsorption capacity is around 13.94 mg/g.