The Utilization of Rice Husk and Banana Peel Waste as Adsorbents to Reduce Iron Metal Content and pH of Sekanak River Water in Palembang City

The Sekanak River water is clearly brown and is also polluted by household waste. It is lined with apartment buildings and markets. The Sekanak River's headwaters are located on Soekarno-Hatta Street, passing through densely populated apartment buildings and the 26 Ilir market, as well as the Sekanak market, before reaching the river mouth, which connects to the Musi River in Palembang. The river's proximity to these markets and apartment buildings allows for pollution from household and commercial waste, making it worthy of research. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of rice husk activated carbon and banana peel adsorbents on the water quality of the Sekanak River in Palembang. This study used rice husk activated carbon and banana peel activated carbon, activated with 20% H2SO4 at a concentration of 0.1 N. The adsorbents were then adsorbed onto the Sekanak River water. The results of the study showed that activated carbon from rice husks and activated carbon from banana peels were able to reduce Fe (iron) levels from 0.4 mg/L to 0.05 mg/L and make the pH of the Sekanak River water normal at 7.27. The conclusion is that activated carbon from banana peels is more effective than activated carbon from rice husks in reducing pollution levels in the Sekanak River. In this study, the analysis of Fe (iron) content was carried out using the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) method. Meanwhile, to determine the pH level, potentiometry/electrometry was used using a pH meter.