Effect of oil palm trunk activated carbon as bio adsorbent and antibacterial agent in water treatment

The oil palm industry contributes to a high quantity of biomass waste due to high production annually. The act of disposing or burning of the oil palm biomass is contributing towards the pollution which harm the environment and might affect the water sources through non-point or point sources. This study implemented the recycling of the oil palm trunk into activated carbon for water purification process. This study investigated the characteristics of activated carbon based on oil palm trunk to be used as a bio adsorbent and antibacterial agent followed with the optimization process. Three samples that were prepared were the native carbon (NC), activated carbon (AC), and silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS). Native carbon (NC) was carbonized at 350 °C while activated carbon (AC) and silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) were carbonized at 500 °C before both sample were activated using H3PO4. Silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) was impregnated with silver after the process of activation. The samples obtained were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy-Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller theory (BET). The samples were used in the removal of zinc and bacterial inhibition experiments which later optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results from SEM images on the activated carbon (AC) and silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) depicted highly porous structures. The presence of the silver element in the silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) can be confirmed from the EDS and XRD results obtained. A common functional group was detected in the samples by observing the FTIR-ATR results. The BET surface area of the native carbon (NC), activated carbon (AC), and silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) were 132 m²/g, 660 m²/g, and 572 m²/g respectively. From the experiment, the optimum condition obtained for the removal of zinc using activated carbon (AC) was 100.02 ppm (initial concentration of zinc), 0.87 g (adsorbent dosage), and 30.22 ºC (temperature) which achieved 52.97 % removal of zinc. The optimum condition for the bacterial inhibition using silver impregnated activated carbon (ACS) was 0.035 g (silver impregnated activated carbon dosage), 0.06 ml (initial volume of bacteria), and 69.43 ºC (temperature) which achieved 99.06 % bacterial inhibition. The data obtained could be used for future study which focuses on a more specific water treatment type and also help in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).