Surface water treatment using Pomelo’s peel (Citrus grandis) and biosand filter as iron (Fe) adsorption in Kangkar Senangar’s River

Abstract

Water is our most precious natural resource. Based on this study which was conducted in Kangkar Senangar, Johor, the majority of rural communities still drink superficial water that does not meet the required standard of quality, which can cause serious health problems. From the interview with the Village Head, it is also noted that they also do not have enough source of water supply. They only use groundwater as their water source to complete daily life tasks. The ability of Pomelo Peel is tested as natural adsorbent, to remove Iron (Fe) from aqueous solution by adsorption was investigated. Characterization of adsorbent was done by SEM and FTIR analyses to observe the surface morphology and functional groups available on the adsorbent. Adsorption was most efficient when 0.20g of adsorbent was used with 50ml of water sample that was taken from Kangkar Senagar’s river. 0.20g was the optimum weight of pamelo peer powder with contact time of 20 minutes to change the quality of water sample. Based on the results, the higher the adsorbent dosages, the higher the adsorption removal of Fe. The highest adsorption removal of Fe was 80.84%. After the adsorption, the water sample was treated using Biosand Filtration (BSF). The function of BSF was to reduce the turbidity, change the colour of water sample, increase the pH and dissolve oxygen. The BSF filtered all the suspended matters in the water samples after the adsorption and produced clearer water.