GEOCHEMISTRY STUDY OF UPPER CITARUM RIVER SUSPENDED SOLID AND ITS CORRELATION WITH DISSOLVED METAL IN CITARUM RIVER

• Main Author: Syukri (NIM : 12114019), Muhammad
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/29352
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Citarum is one of the most strategic rivers in Indonesia. Until now, at least there are three hydroelectric power plant built along the Citarum River such as Saguling, Cirata, and Jatiluhur which play a very strategic role to support the availability of electricity and raw water. The river has 13 billion m3/year water resources and around 500 factories were built around the river. As impact of the population growth and various activities, the pressure on the Citarum River is increasing. In the year of 2013 Citarum River is one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world because lead, aluminum, manganese and iron content are several times higher than the world average. A study in 2017 states that the magnetism value of suspended solid samples in upstream of the Citarum River is higher than the downstream samples. It indicates the occurrence of Citarum River contaminant. <br /> <br /> In this study, 18 suspended solid samples in the Citarum River stream from upstream to downstream and 13 samples from tributaries intake of it were analyzed using XRD, XRF, and SEM-EDS. The analyses were aimed to determine the geochemical and mineral composition contained in the suspended solid. XRD test results showed that the suspended solid of the Citarum River contained clay minerals of the kaolinite and smectite groups and also iron oxide mineral which have the ability to adsorb dissolved heavy metals well. SEM-EDS shows the same results as XRD, where the suspended solid shows the clay mineral structure. The XRF test shows the concentration of heavy metals in suspended solids which tend to be higher than their natural concentration, especially iron, zinc, zircon, cadmium, and lead. With the results of this study it can be concluded that; 1) Suspended solids of the Citarum River containing clay minerals and iron oxide which has ability to adsorb metals from Citarum water and keep the metals as suspended solid. 2) Citarum River cannot be seen only in terms of water pollution, but also needs to look at the sedimentary geochemistry as well, which if the suspended solid is deposited at some place will reduce soil quality and be dangerous for the environment.