ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE CARBON OF RICE HUSK AND BANANA KEPOK SKIN AS ADSORBENT MEDIA IN REDUCING HEAVY METALS IRON (Fe), TSS AND pH ATKUNDUR RIVER IN SOUTH SUMATRA

Abstract

River water is a natural resource that is a necessity for living things, but until
now there has been a lot of pollution caused by industrial activities. Kundur river water
pollution occurs because the disposal of industrial waste that is managed ineffectively and the
river becomes a place for accumulation of waste disposal from all human activities, causing
pollutants to enter the river before finally being channeled into the sea or lake, and at a
certain point when the river's capacity for If the pollution load has reached its limit, what will
happen is river pollution. So we need a way that can reduce this pollution by using various
adsorbents, one of which is activated carbon from rice husks and banana peels. The aims of
the study were to determine the quality of activated carbon from rice husks and kepok banana
peels with different weight variations, to determine the effect of the effectiveness of activated
carbon from rice husks and kepok banana peels, to determine the decrease in levels of heavy
metals iron (Fe), TSS and pH, after Adsorption was carried out with activated carbon from
rice husks and adsorption with activated carbon from kepok banana peels. This research was
conducted by preparing raw materials, carbonization, activation, and absorption of river water
content with activated carbon. The results showed that activated carbon of kepok banana
peels with a concentration of 20% H3PO4 could reduce iron (Fe) levels from an initial value
of 0.52 mg/L to 0.00 mg/L, TSS levels decreased from an initial value of 180.3 to 0.46 mg.
/L., and the pH of the acid solution from the initial value of 5.4 to neutral with a value of 7.2.
The conclusion is that the activated carbon of banana peel kepok is better than rice husk
activated carbon to reduce the content of heavy metal iron (Fe), TSS and neutralize pH.