Efektivitas Karbon Aktif Ampas Tebu dengan Kombinasi Media Filter dalam Penurunan Kadar Besi (Fe) pada Air Sumur

Abstract

Clean water quality is one of the key factors in maintaining public health. Excessive heavy metal content such as iron (Fe) in water can cause health problems. Well water in Tebing Linggahara Village, Labuhanbatu Regency exhibits metallic taste, color, and odor while leaving yellowish stains on water storage tanks, containing iron (Fe) levels of 1.7 mg/L which exceeds the water quality standard of 0.2 mg/L, therefore requiring treatment to reduce the metal content. Activated carbon from sugarcane bagasse is one alternative that can be used to reduce iron (Fe) levels. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of activated carbon from sugarcane bagasse combined with filter media in reducing iron (Fe) levels in well water. This experimental study used four pipes with different filter media combinations. The results showed Fe levels before filtering was 1.7 mg/L. Treatment 4 (gravel, activated carbon from sugarcane bagasse, zeolite, and quartz sand) has the highest effectiveness with Fe reduction of 93.93 percent to 0.087843 mg/L, followed by Treatment 3 with reduction of 87.63 percent to 0.159412 mg/L, Treatment 2 with reduction of 33.00 percent to 1.074982 mg/L, and Treatment 1 with reduction of 0.52 percent to 0.087843 mg/L. One-way ANOVA analysis reveals a p-value = 0.001 (p < 0.05) indicating significant differences among each treatment. The combination of filter media in Treatment 1 with flow rate of 0.600 L/min, Treatment 2 with flow rate of 0.514 L/min, Treatment 3 with flow rate of 0.400 L/min, and Treatment 4 with flow rate of 0.300 L/min is most effective in reducing iron levels to meet applicable health standards. It is recommended that future research evaluate the durability and long-term effectiveness over extended periods to ensure the sustainability of using activated carbon from sugarcane bagasse and add quartz sand filter media layers at the bottom of the filter.