Pembangunan perindustrian yang pesat dan peningkatan di dalam urbanisasi sejak kebelakangan ini telah menyebabkan masalah pencemaran air yang teruk terutamanya kepada sumber bekalan air di Malaysia. Oleh kerana pencemaran yang amat teruk, sistem penapisan tebing sungai (RBF) yang menggunakan proses penapisan semulajadi mungkin boleh digunakan sebagai kaedah olahan awal yang lebih ekonomi. Walau bagaimanapun, keberkesanan rawatan RBF adalah bergantung kepada ciri - ciri fizikal air sungai dan jenis media penapis yang digunakan. Oleh itu, zeolite yang merupakan bahan penjerap mempunyai potensi untuk digunapakai dalam sistem RBF disebabkan oleh keupayaan pertukaran ion dan penyaringannya. Ciri-ciri fizikal dan kimia zeolite ditentukan terlebih dahulu dalam kajian ini dengan menggunakan kaedah Imbasan Elektron Mikroskop (SEM) dan Sinar-X Pembelauan (XRF). Seterusnya, zeolite ini diuji sebagai penapis dalam penyingkiran partikel, Jumlah Koliform, E. Coli, pepejal terlarut (TDS), pepejal terampai (SS), UV254, warna dan kekeruhan. Saiz zeolite 1.18mm - 2mm telah digunakan sebagai media dalam ujian turus sebagai simulasi sistem RBF. Air daripada Sungai Kerian, Lubuk Buntar telah dianalisis terlebih dahulu sebelum kajian turus dijalankan. Berdasarkan keputusan SEM, zeolite yang digunakan terdiri dari gabungan kristal bersaiz mikron bersama liang-liang bersaiz kecil. Kehadiran partikel yang kurang daripada 0.5 μm didapati pada permukaan zeolite selepas penapisan. Seterusnya, keputusan XRF menunjukkan bahawa komponen utama zeolite adalah SiO2 (79%) dan Al2O3 (13%) yang mewakili kumpulan Clinoptilolite. Hasil daripada kajian turus menunjukkan bahawa penyingkiran partikel dan jumlah pepejal terlarut (TDS) menggunakan zeolite tidak dapat ditentukan kerana kesan larut lesap zeolite ke dalam air. Di samping itu, pengurangan jumlah koliform dan E. Coli adalah hampir 100% penyingkiran dan tiada breakthrough berlaku sepanjang ujikaji. Untuk pepejal terampai (SS) dan kekeruhan, proses penyingkiran mencapai 80% - 85% pengurangan dan juga tiada breakthrough berlaku sepanjang ujikaji. Walau bagaimanapun, penyingkiran UV254 dan warna mencapai nilai maksimum untuk tiga hari pertama penapisan sahaja dengan 60% - 73% untuk UV254 dan 75% - 87% penyingkiran untuk warna dan hampir mencapai breakthrough di akhir ujikaji. Zeolite yang beralkali juga telah menyebabkan peningkatan pH air yang telah diolah.
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Massive industrial development in recent years, and an increase in urbanization have caused severe water pollution problem especially to water supply source in Malaysia. Since many water bodies in Malaysia are heavily polluted, riverbank filtration (RBF) which uses natural attenuation process could be a possible low cost pretreatment option. However, the effectiveness of the RBF treatment were depends on the physical characteristics of the river water and the type of filter media used. Therefore, zeolite which is an adsorbent has the potential to modify the RBF system due to its ion-exchange and straining capabilities. In this study, the physical and chemical characteristics of zeolite were first determined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) method. Next, the zeolite was tested as a filter to remove particles, total coliform, E. Coli, total dissolved solids (TDS), suspended solids (SS), UV254, colour and turbidity. Zeolite with particle size 1.18 mm - 2 mm was used as porous media in the filter column as simulation to the RBF system. River water from Sungai Kerian, Lubok Buntar was characterized before conducted the column study. Based on the SEM results, the zeolite used were made from combination of micron-size crystal along with small size of pores. The presence of particles which less than 0.5 μm was found on the surface of zeolite after filtration. Next, the XRF results showed that the main components of the zeolite are SiO2 (79%) and Al2O3 (13%) that represents its Clinoptilolite group. The results from the column study showed that the removal of particles and total dissolved solids (TDS) using zeolite were not able to be determined due to the leaching effects of zeolite into the water. Besides that, the removal of total coliform and E. Coli were almost 100% of removal and no breakthrough occurred throughout the experiment. For suspended solids (SS) and turbidity, the removal were 80% - 85% and also no breakthrough occurred throughout the experiment. However, the removal of UV254 and colour achieved maximum value for the first three days of filtration with 60% - 73% for UV254 and 75% - 87% of removal for colour and almost achieved breakthrough at the end of experiment. Zeolite which is alkaline had also caused the increase of pH of the treated water.
Removal of solids, total coliform, e.coli, uv254, colour and turbidity using zeolite filter in riverbank filtration / Muhammad Fikri Abd Wahab