Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengakaji potensi geopolymer berasaskan metakaolin atau tanah liat yang dibakar sebagai bahan penjerap untuk menyingkirkin logam berat dan warna yang terkandung sampel air bumi yang diekstrak dari telaga di Pusat Pengajian Kejuruteraan Awam, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Sampel air bumi didapati mengandungi ferum, mangan dan warna melebihi paras piawaian yang digariskan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan untuk standard air minuman. Antara bahan penjerap yang sering dibentangkan dalam banyak kajian untuk merawat air bumi ialah zeolite, batu kapur dana rang teraktif. Namun, kajian terkini mendedahkan bahawa geopolimer berasaskan metakaolin juga berpotensi sebagai bahan penjerap. Matlamat kajian ini adalah untuk menyingkirkan ferum, mangan dan warna dari air bumi dengan menggunakan geopolimer sebagai bahan penjerap. Untuk kajian ini, sebanyak 3 sampel geopolimer telah dihasilkan yang mempunyai nilai nisbah pepejal kepada cecair yang berbeza iaitu 0.4, 0,6 dan 0.8. Sampel geopolimer terbaik dipilih ialah geopolimer dari nilai nisbah pepejal kepada cecair 0.8 berdasarkan ketahanannya apabila direndam di dalam air. Sampel yang terbaik dipilih sebagai bahan penjerap dalam kajian optimum. Kajian optimum dilaksanakan adalah kesan terhadap dos, kelajuan dan hubungan masa. Penyingkiran tertinggi direkodkan dalam penyingkiran ferum dan mangan iaitu 100%. Bahan penjerap yang digunakan optimum pada kadar 2 g/L dengan kelajuan 150 rpm dan 1 jam masa hubungan. Di dalam analisis data keseimbangan, model isoterma Langmuir didapati lebih sesuai berbanding model Freundlich. Berdasarkan kadar penyingkiran di dalam kajian ini, geopolimer adalah bahan penjerap yang berpotensi tinggi untuk penyingkiran unsur logam berat, terutamanya ferum dan mangan di dalam air bumi.
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The objective of this research is to investigate the potential of geopolymer based metakaolin as adsorbent in removing heavy metals and colour in groundwater from tube well in School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The concentration of iron, manganese and colour from groundwater sample exceed the permissible limit stated by Ministry of Health for drinking water standard. Based on previous research, common adsorbent used in groundwater treatment are zeolite, limestone and activated carbon. However, literature review also show the potential of geopolymer based metakaolin as adsorbent in water treatment. The main objective of this research was the ability geopolymer based metakaolin in removing heavy metals and colour from groundwater. In this research, three samples of geopolymer was prepared with different solid to liquid ratio which were 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8. The best mix design ratio chooses was solid to liquid ratio 0.8 based on ability to maintain their structure when exposed to water. The best geopolymer sample selected was used as adsorbent in adsorption batch study. Batch study conducted based of effect of dosage, shaking speed and contact time. The percentage removal recorded was 100% for iron and manganese at optimum dosage, shaking speed and contact time which were 2g/ mL, 125 rpm and 1 hour. The highest removal of colour recorded was 68.75% in dosage study. In the equilibrium data analysis, Langmuir isotherm model found to fit the adsorption in this study better than Freundlich isotherm. Based on the removal rate established in the study, geopolymer based metakaolin is a potential adsorbent in the removal of heavy metals, specifically for iron and manganese as well as colour in groundwater.
The application of metakaolin based geopolymer in adsorption study for iron, manganese and colour removal from groundwater / Mohamad Hafizie Mat Rowi