Filtration process with tilapia fish scale macrocomposite adsorbent for groundwater treatment

Abstract

In this study, a filtration column with tilapia fish scale macrocomposite adsorbent was used to treat groundwater from a tube well in an indigenous village located at Kangkar Senangar, Parit Sulong. The tilapia fish scale macrocomposite adsorbent was prepared by mixing tilapia fish scale powder with cement and calcium carbonate in a cube mould. Next, the tilapia fish scale macrocomposite adsorbent was characterised for Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. SEM analysis displayed an irregular and porous surface in the fish scale powder while EDX analysis detected the major elements of the adsorbent which are oxygen, calcium, and carbon. FTIR analysis of the tilapia fish scale adsorbent showed the presence of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and alkene groups that are responsible for the adsorption process. For the filtration column, a layer of dried sand and gravel was cleaned and packed in the column. The filtration test was carried out with and without the tilapia fish scale macrocomposite adsorbent. The adsorbent was then tested in a real filtration system at the village site. The water sample was measured for pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS), total dissolved solid (TDS), ammonia nitrogen (AN), total hardness and heavy metals before and after filtration process based on with and without tilapia macrocomposite adsorbents. The results showed that the sand filter with tilapia fish scale adsorbent had better removal efficiency with more than 92.53% turbidity, 81.82% COD, 83.33% TSS, 88.89% TDS, 95.24% AN, 90.30% manganese and 89.50% zinc removal in groundwater.