Track: Undergraduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

Indonesia has not been separated from the problem of remaining washing in the amalgamation process of gold mining which is classified as still containing heavy metals, especially mercury (Hg). If the dangerous Hg heavy metal is wasted into the environment, it can cause various problems in the environment and especially can threaten human life. Disorders caused include lumps, tumors, nerve damage, brain damage, and even death. Therefore, it is necessary to handle gold mining waste before being disposed of to eliminate Hg content, so that gold mine waste is no longer dangerous for humans or the environment. Meanwhile, on the other hand there was a long-standing event which until now and was considered a disaster, namely Lapindo mudflow. The purpose of this study was to find out how to reduce the content of heavy metal Hg produced from the amalgamation process of gold mining by adding activated sludge by HCl. The activation of the Lapindo mud causes the impurity mineral component that cannot function as a binding group of heavy metal ions which leaves a lot of pore in the mud. Increasing the number of pores causes the surface area of the touch field of mud which has an active group of silanol. This results in a greater and more effective absorption of Hg heavy metal ions. Heavy metal ions will be trapped in the pores of the mud which have many active silanol groups. The more silica found on the surface of the touch field, the more heavy metals can be absorbed during the adsorption process. In this study qualitative and quantitative tests were carried out on the effect of using activated sludge from Lapindo mud on the binding of active ingredients from heavy metals Hg. Analysis of qualitative data is done by observing the presence of white deposits formed as a result of the qualitative test. Quantitative data analysis is carried out by weighing the white sediment formed. This study was also supported by a SEM test to observe the surface morphology of HCl activated sludge material. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the greater the concentration of HCl activator, the greater the binding capacity of the sludge to heavy metals Hg. According to the results obtained in this study, the best HCl concentration as a Lapindo mud activator is 0.4 M. Because the activated sludge with this treatment has the best ability to absorb heavy metals Hg up to 96,06 %. This is in line with the SEM test which shows that Lapindo mud which is activated by 0.4 M HCl has a large amount of pore so that it can absorb Hg heavy metals.

Keywords

adsorbtion, activated mud, mercury (Hg)