Pembuatan Karbon Aktif dari Tongkol Jagung dengan Aktivator Asam Sulfat (H2SO4) untuk Penyerapan Logam Mangan (Mn) pada Air Sumur Bor

Abstract

The increase in industrial development often results in waste, chemicals, or leaks from factory infrastructure that have the potential to contaminate groundwater and compromise the quality of water from bore wells. In this study, activated carbon was produced from corn cobs using H₂SO₄ as an activating agent. Corn cobs were selected as the raw material for activated carbon due to their high carbon content, consisting of approximately 45% cellulose, 35% hemicellulose, and 15% lignin. The use of H₂SO₄ as an activator aims to enlarge the carbon surface area and enhance its adsorption capacity. The activated carbon was characterized using the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) method. The concentration of manganese (Mn) metal in the samples before and after the addition of corn cob-based activated carbon was measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed that after the addition of activated carbon with H₂SO₄ concentrations of 30%, 35%, and 40%, the manganese (Mn) concentrations decreased with adsorption rates of 86.93%, 84%, and 85.48%, respectively. This study concludes that the highest efficiency in reducing manganese (Mn) content was achieved using corn cob-based activated carbon activated with 30% H₂SO₄.