Application of low-cost fabricated column model for the adsorption analysis of pollutants from river water using coconut coir

• Main Authors: Low, Wen Pei, Md. Din, Mohd. Fadhil, Ponraj, Mohanadoss, Fulazzaky, Mohamad Ali, Iwao, Kenzo, Songip, Ahmad Rahman, Chelliapan, Shreeshivadasan
• Format: Article
• Published: Taylor and Francis Inc. 2015
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/57867/; http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2013.853626

A simple fabricated column model of coconut coir was used to adsorb pollutants from polluted river water. This study proposes the application of this model that applied coconut coir to remove organic matter (OM), phosphate (Formula presented.), and ammonia (NH3) present in river Desa Bakti water. A mathematical model is also developed based on the experimental data as a prerequisite analysis to find out the affinity of adsorbent/adsorbate. The obtained mass transfer for OM was faster when compared to NH3 and (Formula presented.). Resistance of mass transfer was verified based on the concentration of contaminant which usually depends on its environmental driving forces. The maximum growth rate observed for bacteria is 4.7756 g new cells/g cells·d, which proved that OM in water had contributed as food source for the growth of micro-organisms in the model. Thus, the developed treatment technology using coconut coir is able to be applied for effective adsorption of OM, NH3, and (Formula presented.).