Material Adsorben Magnetik Berbasis Silika Sekam Padi untuk Adsorpsi Hg(II) dari Limbah Pertambangan Emas Tumpangpitu Banyuwangi

Heavy metal contamination, particularly mercury (Hg), is a significant environmental concern associated with gold mining activities. The use of mercury in the amalgamation process can result in its release into the environment, posing potential risks to ecosystems and human health. One promising approach to mitigate mercury contamination in mining waste is the use of silica-based magnetic adsorbents. This study aimed to develop rice husk-derived SH/Fe3O4@SiO2 as an effective adsorbent for Hg(II) removal. Silica was extracted from rice husk and subsequently used in the synthesis of silica-coated magnetic Fe3O4, followed by surface modification with mercapto (–SH) groups using 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS). The synthesized material was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that SH/Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ exhibited high Hg(II) adsorption efficiency at pH 3, reaching 95.67 ± 0.33%. The material also demonstrated effective Hg(II) removal from a real gold-mining wastewater sample collected from Tumpangpitu, Banyuwangi. These findings demonstrate the potential of rice husk-derived SH/Fe3O4@SiO2 as a magnetic adsorbent for Hg(II) removal under laboratory conditions and provide a basis for further development for mining wastewater treatment.