Abstract:
This research aims to investigate the performance of activated carbon from water chestnut (WC) as an Fe adsorbent on river water samples in South Kalimantan. The WC was carbonized at a temperature of 400 °C. Then the carbon was activated with two types of activators, KOH and H2SO4 solutions. The carbonization and the activation time were also varied in two different times, 1 and 2 hours. The electrical conductivity of Martapura River water was measured to investigate its condition or quality, and yielded about 0.56 or 5600 µS/cm. It is quite large compared to the standard 1000 µS/cm. After activated carbon treatment, the electrical conductivity is reduced by about 6.67 – 13.81%. For Fe adsorption, the reduction efficiency and adsorption capacity were in the range of 7.73 % – 22.94 % and 0.50 – 1.47 mg/g. The results showed that the prepared activated carbon is effective in adsorption and decreases the Fe metal content at room temperature.
