The utilization of silica sand and clay with the addition of sawdust as raw material for manufacturing ceramic membranes to reduce TSS and TDS levels of peat water

Abstract

Peat water is abundant in Riau Province. The amount has the potential to be processed into clean water but is constrained by the condition of peat water, which is not good for health. Therefore, it is necessary to process it first so that the community can use it. Ceramic membrane technology is one of the alternative technologies that are easy and inexpensive to use to purify peat water. The quality of peat water can be improved by filtering out contaminants using ceramic membranes, which have porous media. This work combined silica sand, clay, and sawdust with varied compositions to create ceramic membranes. This study aims to: combine clay, sawdust, and silica sand with varied composition to create ceramic membrane; find the ideal composition (optimal ratio) of clay, sawdust, and silica sand; and reduce the TDS and TSS levels of peat water at Ujung Batu Street, Farmer Field, Mandau District. Ceramic membranes were created for 4 h at a burning temperature of 700 °C and had a plate-shaped membrane of 11 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm in height. The composition ratios of the materials in this study are (silica sand: clay: sawdust) M1 = 58%:38%:4%, M2 = 48%:48%:4%, and M3 = 38%:58%:4%. Based on the results of this study, the best ceramic membrane for rejecting TSS is a membrane with a composition of silica sand: clay: sawdust (38%: 58%: 4%) of 26.97%, and the ceramic membrane that produces the highest flux for peat water is the membrane with a composition of 58%:38%:4% of 879 × 10-4 l/m2.hour. The ceramic membrane succeeded in reducing the TDS level of peat water by 10.36% and the TSS level of peat water by 26.97%.