Degradation of iron from wastewater using oil palm leaves activated carbon for removal of iron in wastewater

Heavy metals in industrial wastewater pose serious environmental and health risks.Traditional removal methods are costly and can produce additional contaminants.Oil palm leaves activated carbon (OPLAC) offers an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative for heavy metal removal.However, optimizing production, understanding adsorption capacity, evaluating long-term performance, and assessing scalability are necessary challenges.This study examines OPLAC's potential for sustainable heavy metal removal, focusing on practical implementation.Laboratory experiments explore iron removal by varying pH, temperature, metal concentration, and contact time to evaluate OPLAC's effectiveness.OPLAC production involves cleaning, drying, pulverizing oil palm leaves, immersing them in Zinc Chloride (ZnCl2), and drying to create activated carbon.This process enhances OPLAC's surface area and adsorption capacity.Wastewater samples from an industrial area with high heavy metal levels are tested.Batch tests using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) assess adsorption capacity under different conditions.Results show a 97.06% removal rate for iron under optimal conditions.This study highlights the importance of tailored methods for specific contaminants and the potential of advanced techniques like RSM for optimizing wastewater treatment, providing valuable insights for future research and practical applications in wastewater treatment facilities.