Effectiveness of powdered activated carbon from fruit waste in removing heavy metals in groundwater

Abstract

This study was conducted to measure and compare the existing concentration of heavy metals in groundwater at riverbank. This study was also carried out to determine the effectiveness of activated durian rind which serves as powdered activated carbon (PAC) as an adsorption agent to remove heavy metals such as iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in groundwater. The initial concentration of Fe and Mn from all groundwater samples have exceeded the allowable standard. The process of removing iron and manganese was done by using 0.1g, 0.2g, 0.3g and 0.4g of activated durian rind. The results has shown a promising success with the percentage of removal with activated durian rind for iron ranging from 93.06% to 98.39%, while removal percentage for manganese ranging from 93.42% to 98.57%.