Utilisation of palm oil fibre cake biomass for magnetic nanoparticle biocomposites as adsorbents in Sasirangan liquid waste treatment

Syamsul Ma'arif Putra Ukhrawi (Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia)
Iryanti Fatyasari Nata (Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia)
Rinna Juwita ([Scopus ID 57221748066] Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia)
Ahmad Gazaly (Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia)
Ismi Nur Karima (Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia)
Angga Prasetya (Angga Prasetya, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University)

Konversi
Vol 14, No 2 (2025): OCTOBER 2025

Palm kernel fibre (fibre cake) is a waste product from the palm oil industry that has potential as a source of natural fibre. This study aims to utilise fibre cake to produce magnetic nanoparticle biocomposites as adsorbents for reducing the lead (Pb2+) content and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in Sasirangan liquid waste. The research produced two types of biocomposites: one without amino groups (FCB-M) and one with amino groups (FCB-MH). Observations from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that magnetic nanoparticles had formed on the surface of the fibre cake. Treatment of palm oil fibres with NaOH restructured amorphous cellulose into crystalline cellulose, as indicated by a 30.25% increase in the Crystalinity Index (CrI) based on X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The Pb²⁺ content absorbed by FCB and FCB-NH₂ was 97.84 mg/g and 101.82 mg/g, respectively, for 3 hours at pH 8. The modification of amino groups on the surface of the biocomposite resulted in a 164.85% increase in adsorption. The effectiveness of TSS reduction at pH 8 was 65.8% and 62.9% for FCB-M and FCB-MH, respectively.