Abstract:
The presence of heavy metal mercury (Hg2+) in liquid waste has
caused serious problems to environmental pollution. One of the most
effective method to reduce the levels of heavy metals mercury (Hg2+)
in liquid waste is adsorption. Rice husk ash is highly potential to
adsorb heavy metals in water because it is a porous material with a
high silica content. Therefore, rice husk ash can be used as an
adsorbent for heavy metals in liquid waste. The purpose of this study
was to determine the level of mercury (Hg2+) that can be adsorbed
from the column adsorption process using adsorbent of rice husk ash
and to determine the optimum mass of rice husk ash as an adsorbent.
The research was conducted using a series of simple adsorption
column tools with a circulation time of 120 minutes. While the
independent variables were adsorbent particle size of 50, 100, and
200 mesh. Measurement of mercury (Hg2+) levels was carried out on
samples before and after treatment with Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results showed a significant decrease
in Hg2+ levels with the optimum adsorbent particle size of 200 mesh.
The value of the adsorbed Hg2+ ion content reached 101.670 µg/L in
the adsorption process using adsorbent with 200 mesh particle size .
