Optimization of biosorption process using cucumis melo rind for the removal of Fe, Mn and Pb ions from groundwater

Biosorption can be an effective technique for the treatment of metal-bearing groundwater. Several fruits and agricultural by-products demonstrated the ability to remove the heavy metals and thereby reduce the water contaminants. In the present study, the potential use of biosorbent material obtained from Cucumis melo rind for the removal of Pb, Fe and Mn ions from groundwater was investigated according to four types of parameters namely pH, biosorbent dosage, initial metal concentration and contact time. Characterization of biosorbent was done by the means of SEM-EDX, XRF and FTIR analysis to observe for the surface morphology, elemental composition and functional groups available on the biosorbent. Sorption was most efficient at pH 7 for Fe(II) and pH 6.5 for both Mn(II) and Pb(II) using 0.05g/100ml biosorbent dosage at contact time of 45 minutes. The biosorption of all metals increased with increasing biosorbent dosage. FTIR study revealed the presence of functional groups on the surface of biosorbent facilitates the biosorption of the metal ions. The Langmuir, Freundlich and BET isotherm models were used to predict the behavior metal binding while Langergren Pseudo-first and Pseudo-second order were used to study the kinetics aspects. The equilibrium data for all metals were best fit to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm with maximum adsorption capacity of 5.3505 mg/g, 2.7525 mg/g and 0.0830 mg/g respectively for Fe(II), Mn(II) and Pb(II). The result indicates that the Pseudo-second order model best describes the kinetics data. The Cucumis melo rind successfully removes up to 90.73%, 91.47% and 90.94% respectively to Fe, Mn and Pb in the groundwater samples which reduce the metals level below the WHO recommended limits of heavy metal for drinking water

Coagulation and flocculation process using cassava peel starch modified with lemongrass extract for pollutants removal in raw water

Sustainable and greener solution for water treatment problems is the persistent need in the current days. The present research synthesized a novel dual function coagulant using cassava peel starch with incorporation of lemongrass extract and evaluated the synergistic effect between alum and modified cassava peel starch (MCPS) or native cassava peel starch (CPS) as dual coagulants in removing turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in raw water. The effects of pH, coagulant dosage and settling time on coagulation and flocculation performance of the coagulants were also determined. The coagulation and flocculation mechanisms were examined through floc characterization and electrokinetic analyses. Characterization study of coagulants confirmed the efficacy of modification technique as described by significant changes in pores formation, texture roughness and appearance of new element including Cl and Ca on the surface of the modified starch. The presence of citral, an important active group in lemongrass extract which responsible for antimicrobial property was also found in the modified starch. Coagulation and flocculation study indicated alum – MCPS and alum – CPS presented distinctive performance compared to alum, CPS and MCPS as sole coagulants of in terms of both coagulation and antibacterial functionality. Substantial removals of turbidity (93.15%), TSS (92.00%) and E. coli (100.00%) were achieved with treatment alum – MCPS within 10 minutes of settling time at effective alum – MCPS dosage of 4.50 – 70.00 mg/L and pH 7. Alum individually prevails over other coagulants in reducing COD (34.06%). Mechanism study indicated that charge neutralization is the main mechanism driving the coagulation process associated with alum. While bridging, ion exchange and complexation mechanism dominated the coagulation process associated with the starches. The favorable dual functionality of the coagulants provides a greener alternative in the effort to reduce the dosage of chemical coagulants and disinfectants, which in turn gives an impact on significant attenuation in the secondary pollution risk of chemical coagulants and disinfectant by-products

Constraints in Implementation of Green Building Projects in Malaysia: A Short Review

Green building (GB) is the foundation of sustainable construction and a part of promoting environmental conservation. Bringing change to the building construction industry requires multiple efforts from various angles especially to overcome any resistances in the form of technology, human aspects, financial and resources. The transition from conventional to sustainable approach consumes time as it requires changes from different facets in the industry ranging from individual, organizational to industry level. In Malaysia, there are various efforts to bring green into the industry but the progress is low moderate. The current review identified the major constraints that hinder a faster progress for green buildings development in Malaysia which include high initial cost, lack of knowledge and awareness among public and industry players, challenges in technology and expertise as well as lack of government enforcement and incentives. The outcomes of this paper will assist in enhancing and improving the sustainable practice in Malaysian’s construction industry for the betterment of life for sustainable communities

The application of electro-coagulation in biodiesel wastewater treatment

A large quantity of oily wastewater is generated by biodiesel refineries which results in terrible environmental pollution and resource utilization problems. This wastewater must be treated before being released into the environment due to it normally rich in biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) which usually have damaging and harmful effects on plants, sea, river as well as surface and groundwater sources. Conventional biodiesel wastewater treatment methods such as gravity separation and skimming, air flotation, coagulation, de-emulsification and flocculation, posses several disadvantages including high operation cost, low efficiency, corrosion and recontamination problems. Indeed, most of these conventional methods unable to remove the micron or submicron sized oil droplets efficiently. Currently, new processes for efficient and adequate treatment of various industrial wastewaters with relatively low operating costs have been developed to meet the strict environmental regulations. At this point, the electrocoagulation process has attracted a great deal of attention in treating industrial wastewaters because of its versatility and environmental compatibility. Therefore, in this chapter, the advatages and application of electro-coagulation techniques were reviewed and discussed

Performance assessment of cassava peel starch and alum as dual coagulant for turbidity removal in dam water

The agricultural and food processing industries generate a significant portion of residues, refuse and waste. Conversion of these wastes into useful end product would be beneficial not only to the economy but also the environment as it reducing the solid waste disposal problem. The present study was aimed to investigate the performance of cassava peel starch (CPS) extracted from cassava peel waste in combination with alum to act as dual coagulant for turbidity removal in raw water from Sembrong dam. Comparative studies by employing both alum and CPS as primary coagulant using several series of Jar test were also conducted. Results showed that the usage of alum-CPS as dual coagulant not only enhanced the turbidity removal with maximum achievement up to 91.47%, but also significantly improve the coagulation process by reducing both alum dosage and settling time up to 50% which indicates broad prospects to be further developed as emerging green coagulant

A Chemical and Morphological Study of Cassava Peel: A Potential Waste as Coagulant Aid

This study investigates the chemical and morphological characteristics of cassava peel (CP) biomass as a potential coagulant aid for turbidity, heavy metals and microbial removal. FE-SEM micrograph shown the surface of the CP samples was covered with smooth and globular in shaped of bound starch granules. FTIR spectra demonstrated that carboxyl and hydroxyl groups were present in abundance. Whereas analysis by XRF spectrometry indicated the CP samples contain Fe2O3 and Al2O3 which might contribute to its coagulation ability. The features of CP obtained from this study promotes the feasibility of CP to be further developed and studied to produce effective coagulant aid as sustainable alternative to reduce the usage of chemical coagulants

Water and environmental issues

Water is a precious and finite part of the environment which is vital for socioeconomic development, sustainability of the environment and survival. Malaysia is fortunate that it is located in a humid tropical area rich in rainfall and water resources. The rapid economic growth of Malaysia in the past decades is also mainly attributed to its ability to exploit abundant natural resources including water. The exploitation of water resources is an important catalyst of economic growth but continuous exploitation without proper management and conservation may cause the depletion of water supplies, rendering water resources unsustainable. In recent years, water problems have escalated in Malaysia due to climate change, urbanization and population explosion. Therefore, effective water conservation, efficient waste water and sewage management integrated with recent technologies are important for fostering the tandem development of economic growth and the sustainability of environmental resources

Prediction of Wastewater Treatment Plant Performance Using Multivariate Statistical Analysis: A Case Study of a Regional Sewage Treatment Plant in Melaka, Malaysia

The wastewater quality index (WWQI) is one of the most significant methods of presenting meaningful values that reflect a fundamental characteristic of wastewater. Therefore, this study was performed to develop a prediction approach using WWQI for a regional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Melaka, Malaysia. The regional system of WWTP provides a huge amount of registered data due to the many parameters recorded daily. A multivariate statistical analysis approach was applied to analyze the database. In this approach, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the dimensionality of datasets obtained from the field municipal WWTP, and multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to predict the performance of WWQI. Seven principal component analyses were derived where the eigenvalue was above 1.0, explaining 71.01% of the variance. A linear relationship was observed (R2 = 0.85), p-value < 0.05, and residual values were uniformly distributed above and below the zero baselines. Therefore, the coefficients of the WWQI model are directly dependent on influent biological oxygen demand (BOD), effluent BOD, influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), and effluent COD values. The experimental results showed that the model performed well and can be used to predict WWQI for each WWTP individually and provide better achievements

Synthesis and Characterization of Dual Properties Coagulant from Natural Precursors for Raw Water Treatment

A novel coagulant with dual properties was produced by manipulating the chemical characteristics of natural precursors. In the present study, cassava peel starch (CPS) was isolated from agriculture waste and lemongrass extract was procured using soxhlet extraction using ethanol. A preliminary study consisting of chemical analysis and antimicrobial test was done onto the lemongrass extract to ensure the presence of the active group responsible for antimicrobial effect. The modified cassava peel starch (MCPS) was synthesized using novel acid-alkali grafting method to incorporate active compounds from lemongrass extract onto the starch backbone. The modified starch was subjected to Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (SEM-EDX) for surface morphological and elementral distribution analysis. The molecular composition analysis was accomplished using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FTIR) while the efficacy of the modification process was further analyze using proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H NMR). The SEM-EDX and FTIR results revealed impressive changes in the physical surface morphology, elemental distribution and chemical structure of the starch post-modification. The results also indicated successful integration of lemongrass active groups onto the starch molecules which provides promising potential of the modified starch towards proposed application for water clarification and disinfection

A Chemical and Morphological Study of Cassava Peel: A Potential Waste as Coagulant Aid

This study investigates the chemical and morphological characteristics of cassava peel (CP) biomass as a potential coagulant aid for turbidity, heavy metals and microbial removal. FE-SEM micrograph shown the surface of the CP samples was covered with smooth and globular in shaped of bound starch granules. FTIR spectra demonstrated that carboxyl and hydroxyl groups were present in abundance. Whereas analysis by XRF spectrometry indicated the CP samples contain Fe2O3 and Al2O3 which might contribute to its coagulation ability. The features of CP obtained from this study promotes the feasibility of CP to be further developed and studied to produce effective coagulant aid as sustainable alternative to reduce the usage of chemical coagulants