Coagulation-Adsorption of Suspended Solids and Residual Oil from Palm Oil Mill Effluent using Chitosan

https://doi.org/10.22146/ajche.50838

Abdul Latif bin Ahmad(1*), S. Sumathi(2), Bassim H. Hameed(3)

(1) School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus Universiti Sains Malaysia, Seri Ampangan 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, MALAYSIA
(2) School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus Universiti Sains Malaysia, Seri Ampangan 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, MALAYSIA
(3) School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus Universiti Sains Malaysia, Seri Ampangan 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, MALAYSIA
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


A bench-scale study of suspended solids and residue oil removal from palm oil mill effluent (POME) was conducted. Residual oil and suspended solids constitute a severe problem in POME treatments. Preliminary analysis showed that PO ME contains about 4,000 mg/! of residual oil and 18,000 mg/! of suspended solids. These values are very high compared to the maximum limit allowed by the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) at about 50 mg/I for residual oil and 400 mg/I for suspended solids. Chitosan, poly-p (1-4)2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose (N-deacetylated), is a biodegradable cationic biopolymer obtained by extensive deal«tylation of chitin. Chitosan was applied as a coagulant to sequester the suspended solid and as an adsorbent to adsorb the residual oil. In this study, the effects were analyzed using the jar test apparatus as the standard procedure for bench-scale testing. The effects of experimental parameters, such as dosage of chitosan, mixing time, mixing rate, sedimentation time, and pH, were performed to study and manipulate the optimum conditions. Results showed that a combination of 0.5 g dosage of chitosan, 15 min of mixing time, 100 rpm of mixing rate, and 30 min of sedimentation at pH 5 provide the most suitable condition for the removal of POME residual oil and suspended solids. The removal percentage for residual oil was 99% whereas for suspended solids the value was 250 mg/!. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy study proved the adsorption of residual oil on chitosan.

Keywords


Adsorption, chitosan, coagulation, palm oil mill effluent (POME), residue oil, and suspended solids.

Full Text:

PDF


References

  1. Ahmad, A. L, Norliza, I., Suzylawati, I., and Subash, B. (2002). "Coagulation sedimentation-extraction pretreatment methods for the removal of suspended solids and residue oil from palm oil mill effluent (POME)," NUM Engineering Journal, 3, 1, 23–31.
  2. Setti, L., Mazzieri, S., and Pifferi, P. G. (1999). "Enhanced degradation of heavy oil in an aqueous system by a Pseudomonas sp. in the presence of natural and synthetic sorbents," Bioresources Tech., 67, 191-99.
  3. Shukla, A., Zhang, Y. H., Dubey, P., Margrave, J. L., and Shukla, S. S. (2002). “The role of sawdust in the removal of unwanted materials from water," J. of Hazardous Mat., B95, 137–52.
  4. Tchobanoylous, G., and Burton, FL (1991). Wastewater engineering treatment, Disposal and reuse, 3rd ed., Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., McGraw-Hill, Inc.
  5. Yu, Y., and He, B. (1997). "The preparation of crosslinked N, O-carboxymethyl chitosan resins and their adsorption properties for triglyceride in serum," Journal of Reactive Polymers, 6, 1, 83-88.
  6. Zouboulis, A. I., and Avranas, A. (2000). "Treatment of oil-in-water emulsions by coagulation and dissolved-air flotation," Colloids & Surfaces, 172, 153–61.
  7. Haussard, M., Gaballah, I., Kanari, N., Donato, P. D., Barres, O., and Villieras, F. (2003). "Separation of hydrocarbons and lipid from water using treated bark," Water Resources, 37, 362-74.
  8. Inagaki, M., Kawahara, A., Nishi, Y., and Iwashita, N. (2002). "Heavy oil sorption and recovery by using carbon fiber felts," Carbon, 40, 1487-92.
  9. Ma, A. N. (2000). “Environmental management for the palm oil industry," Palm Oil Developments, 30, 1-10.
  10. Majeti, N. V., and Kumar, R. (2000). “A review of chitin and chitosan applications," Reactive and Functional Poly., 46, 1-27.
  11. Michael, S., Heike, K., and Helmar, S. (1994). "Adsorption kinetics of emulsifiers at oil water interfaces and their effect on mechanical emulsification," Chem. Eng. and Processing, 33, 307–11.
  12. Muzarelli, R. A. A. (1977). Chitin, Pergamon Press, Oxford. Muzzarelli, R. A. A. (1996). "Chitosan-based dietary foods," Carbohydrate Polymers, 29, 309–16.
  13. Norliza, I. (2001). "Removal of suspended solid and residual oil from palm oil mill effluent," Masters Thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
  14. Osman, Z., and Arof, A. K. (2003). "FTIR studies of chitosan acetate-based polymer electrolytes," Electrochimica Acta, Pergamon Press, 1-7.
  15. Pan, J. R., Huang, C., Chen, S., and Chung, Y. C. (1999). "Evaluation of a modified chitosan biopolymer for coagulation of colloidal particles," Colloids and Surfaces, 147, 359–64.
  16. Pinotti, A., Bevilacqua, A., and Zaritzky, N. (1997). "Optimization of the flocculation stage in a model system of a food emulsion waste using chitosan as polyelectrolyte," Journal of Food Engineering, 32, 69–81.
  17. Pontius, F. W. (2000). "Regulation for aluminium in drinking water," J. Am. Waterworks Assoc., 92, 4, 18-22.
  18. Schulz P. C., Rodriguez, M. S., Del Blanco, L. F,
  19. Pistonesi, M., and Agullo, E. (1998). "Emulsification properties of chitosan," Col. Poly. Sc., 276, 1159-65.



DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ajche.50838

Article Metrics

Abstract views : 1697 | views : 1062

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering  (print ISSN 1655-4418; online ISSN 2655-5409) is published by Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada.