Adsorption of Heavy Metal (Cu, Pb and Cd) in Leachate of Terjun

Landfill by using Activated Charcoal Made of Biomass Waste

Jepri Grieva M. Purba

, Erman Munir

and Delvian*

Master Program of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Post Graduate School, Universitas Sumatera

Utara, Medan 20155, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20155, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Keywords: Leachate, activated charcoal, raw material (palm frond, sawdust, corn cob, coconut shell), heavy metal (Cu,

Pb and Cd).

Abstract: The research is about the adsorption of heavy metal (Cu, Pb and Cd) in leachate of Terjun Landfill by using

activated charcoal from biomass waste which has been conducted by employing complete random design

with one factor which was the variety of the raw materials of activated charcoal (cob of corn, coconut shell,

frond of palm, and sawdust) and three replications. The testing of the activated charcoal quality was based

on the quality standard of activated charcoal SNI 06-3730-1995. The activated charcoal was tested their

ability in adsorbing Cu, Pb and Cd contained in the leachate of Landfill. The results of adsorption ability of

the activated charcoal showed that the activated charcoal from coconut shell yielded the highest Pb and Cd

adsorption with 58.09% and 80% respectively. The highest Cu adsorption was yielded from the charcoal

made of sawdust i.e. 59.52%. The results of this research demonstrate that the activated charcoal of biomass

wastes (corn cob, coconut shell, palm frond, and sawdust) is potential to be used in the management of

metal pollution in the environment.

1 INTRODUCTION

Increasing human population and urban

development have resulted in changes of pattern in

high public consumption year to year, leading to a

critical pressure towards environment within a fixed

area of land. Human activities in fulfilling their

living needs from agriculture, industry and

household activities will always produce wastes that

contribute to a decrease in water quality Mahyudin

(2010). Water pollution caused by waste

contamination may occur from open dumping

disposal and landfill filled with wastes in which later

be decomposed together with rainwater, producing

leachate Suriawiria (2003).

Leachate is a kind of contaminant with potential

interference to environment and human health.

Leachate can seep into the ground, or flow on the

land surface and lead to the flow of streams.

Leachate containing organic and inorganic

compounds with a concentration of 5000 times

higher than groundwater, may enter the groundwater

and freshwater causing pollution Maramis (2008).

Heavy metals are often found in leachate i.e. arsenic,

cadmium, chromium, mercury, nickel, zinc, copper

and lead. The heavy metals tend to accumulate and

settle inside organisms for a long time as

accumulated toxins Fatmawinira (2005).

Corn cobs, coconut shells, oil palm fronds, and

sawdust are examples of biomass wastes that are

potential to be used as activated charcoal, because of

their abundance in environment. Up until now,

people tend to utilize corn cobs, coconut shells, oil

palm fronds, and sawdust as material for animal

feed, fuel or just neglected into the environment. To

avoid this, the utilization of corn cobs, coconut

shells, palm fronds, and sawdust is investigated, one

of which is to be utilized as raw materials for

activated charcoals Mutmainnah (2012).

Activated charcoal is a porous solid containing

85-95% carbon, produced from carbon-containing

materials. In the manufacture of activated charcoal

consists of two main stages, namely the process of

carbonation of raw materials and the activation

process. Carbonation of raw materials is an indoor

process in the absence of oxygen and other

232

Grieva M. Purba, J., Munir, E. and Delvian, .

Adsorption of Heavy Metal (Cu, Pb and Cd) in Leachate of Terjun Landﬁll by using Activated Charcoal Made of Biomass Waste.

DOI: 10.5220/0009900600002480

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (ICNRSD 2018), pages 232-235

ISBN: 978-989-758-543-2

chemicals in the process of pore formation, while the

formation of activated charcoal functions to enlarge

the pores of activated charcoal to enhance the

maximum adsorption of heavy metals. The results of

this study are expected to reveal the potential use

and utilization of corn cobs, coconut shells, oil palm

fronds, and sawdust for processing and to expose the

more more beneficial aspect of these wastes for the

environment, especially for the adsorption of heavy

leachate in the Medan Landfill, North Sumatera.

2 MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

2.1 Study Site

The study was conducted in the adsorption of heavy

metal (Cu, Pb and Cd) in leachate of Terjun Landfill

by using activated charcoal from biomass waste of

Medan. The duration of study was five months,

starting from mid-Maret to mid-Juli 2017.

2.2 Data Collection

The sample used in this study is leachate taken from

the Waste End Containment Site (TPA) Terjun,

Medan. The tests carried out in this study consisted

of measurements of yield, moisture content, volatile

content, ash content, bonded carbon content,

benzene absorption, iodine absorption, and

methylene blue absorption at the USU Faculty of

Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Tests of heavy

metals in the form of Cu, Pb and Cd were carried out

at SUCOFINDO Medan branch and the Medan

Class I Environmental Health and Disease Control

Engineering Center (BTKLPP). For surface

morphology testing on activated charcoal was

carried out at the Faculty of Physics at UNIMED.

2.3 Data Analysis

2.3.1 Preparation Stage

Biomass wastes i.e. corn cobs, coconut shells, oil

palm fronds and sawdust were dried under sunlight

to obtain dry materials. Biomass wastes were then

cut into small pieces for carbonization stage.

2.3.2 Carbonization Stage

The process of carbonization is the process of

breaking organic materials into carbon with high

temperature and without air Salamah (2008). Each

sample of corn cob, coconut shell, palm oil frond,

and sawdust were inserted into a furnace and then

burned at 600

C for 2 hr until becoming charcoals

Kurniati (2008). The carbonization products were

cooled for 24 hr and then smoothed so as to pass a

60 mesh sieve.

2.3.3 Activation Stage

The smoothed charcoals were then subjected to a

chemical and physical activation process. Each

charcoal samples were then chemically activated by

immersing each charcoal sample in NaOH solutions

with a concentration of 1% for 24 hr to enable the

activating agent to work properly, then the activated

charcoals were dried Pujiati R and Sutapa RJG

(2005). Each charcoals were then physically

activated by heating into a furnace at a temperature

of 700

C for 60 min. After activation completed, the

activated charcoals were allowed to cool yet to

stabilize their forms.

2.3.4 Adsorption of Leachate using

Activated Charcoals

One gram of each activated charcoals (corn cobs,

coconut shells, oil palm fronds and sawdusts) was

suspended into 600 mL leachate water for 30 min.

The leachate water was then filtered. Five mililitre

of HNO

was added into solution and then the

solutions were homogenized using shaker for 20

min. The heavy metal content within the solution

were then measured before and after application of

activated charcoals Braun RD (1982).

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The results of experiment using activated charcoals

of corncob, coconut shell, palm oil midrib, and

sawdust in adsorbtion heavy metals Cu, Pb, and Cd

in leachate waterfill TPA Terjun done by soaking 30

minutes for each activated charcoal. The following

results are coconut shell activated coconut,

corncobs, sawdust, and palm oil preparations of Cu,

Pb, and Cd heavy metals in Table 1.

Adsorption of Heavy Metal (Cu, Pb and Cd) in Leachate of Terjun Landﬁll by using Activated Charcoal Made of Biomass Waste

233

Table 1: Heavy metal contents in leachate water and adsorption percentage of activated charcoals

Activated

charcoals

Heav

Metals

Cu Pb C

Adsorption

(ppm)

Percentage

(%)

Adsorption

(ppm)

Percentage

(%)

Adsorption

(ppm)

Percentage

(%)

Control 0.090 - 0,110 - 0.140 -

Corn cob 0.037 40.99 0.038 34.91 0.067 47.57

Coconut shell 0.036 39.90 0.064 58.09 0.112 80.00

Oil palm fron

0.032 35.27 0.038 36.72 0.071 50.36

Sawdust 0.054 59.52 0.055 50.00 0.072 51.07

The results showed that there was a decrease in

heavy metal content of Cu, Pb, and Cd after being

processed by adsorption using activated charcoal

from cob of corn, coconut shell, frond of palm, and

sawdust. From the results of heavy metal adsorption

test contained in leachate water showed that the

activated charcoal from coconut shell yielded the

highest ability to adsorb metal Pb and Cd

respectively 58.09% and 80%. While the highest

adsorption of Cu metal is obtained from activated

charcoal sawdust powder that is equal to 59,52%. It

is thought to be caused by the immersion time and

the materials used in the production of activated

charcoal. The different types of active charcoal

materials used for heavy metal adsorbents Cu, Pb,

and Cd have different characteristics, such as

different surface area, different structure, and

different properties.

The results obtained decreased metal

concentrations in the solution along with the length

of time immersion by activated charcoal. This is due

to the process of adsorption of metal ions by

activated carbon. The decrease in heavy metal

concentration occurs before the activated charcoal

becomes saturated reaching a state where the

activated carbon can not readsorb the heavy metal

molecule. Adsorption is the binding of molecules or

particles to a solid surface (Cheremisinoff, 2002).

The adsorption process on activated charcoal

occurs due to Van der Waals forces. Atoms on the

surface of solids such as activated charcoal have

unbalanced forces compared to the arrangement of

atoms in solids in general. Thus, foreign molecules

will seek to meet these imbalances to be attracted to

the surface of activated carbon. Adsorbents (metal

ions) form a single layer (monolayer) on the

adsorbant surface (Fatmawinira, 2005). The metal

ion diffuses into the pores of the activated carbon

due to differences in the adsorbate concentration

present in the solution with the carbon pores.

The results of this study indicate that activated

charcoal from biomass waste (cob of corn, coconut

shell, frond of palm, and sawdust) has the potential

to be used in the management of metal contaminants

in the environment.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Activated charcoal is the adsorption material, one of

them as the adsorption of heavy metals. From the

results of heavy metal absorption experiments (Cu,

Pb and Cd) in leachate of Terjun Landfill by using

activated charcoal from biomass waste by cob of

corn, coconut shell, frond of palm, and sawdust had

good absorption performance against heavy metals

(Cu, Pb, and Cd). So that heavy metals contained in

landfill leachate Landfill decreases and reduces the

impact on the environment.

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