DEGRADATION OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) WASTE BY PHOTOCATALYTIC TECHNOLOGY USING BIVO4 BASED CATALYST

• Main Author: Fathoni Amri, Aryan
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik kimia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/64169
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Monoclinic BiVO4 semiconductor material has a narrow band gap energy of about 2.4 eV which is equivalent to visible light with a wavelength of 517 nm. This research includes the synthesis and modification of monoclinic BiVO4 to improve its characteristics which include crystal structure, morphology and particle size, specific surface area, and band gap energy. In addition, observations were made on the activity of the two semiconductor materials in photocatalytic degradation of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) waste. The synthesis of photocatalyst material in this study used the sol-gel method. The modification used in this study was the addition of ethylene diamine tetra acetate (EDTA) and varying the calcination temperature. The characterizations used were X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), surface area analysis using the BET method and UVVis reflectance diffusion spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The photocatalytic degradation activity test was carried out in a batch reactor and analyzed using the UV-Vis spectroscopy method under UV radiation to visible light (Xenon lamp). The results showed that the unmodified photocatalyst had a tetragonal and monoclinic crystal structure, while the modified photocatalyst changed the crystal structure formed. Photocatalyst crystal size changes due to modification using EDTA and changes in calcination temperature. Based on the results obtained, the calcination temperature and EDTA played an important role in determining the physical and chemical characteristics of the synthesized BiVO4 photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation activity test showed that the unmodified BiVO4 photocatalyst using EDTA had a fairly good photocatalytic performance with a percentage of POME waste degradation efficiency of about 24% within 240 minutes. Moreover, the degradation kinetics of POME effluents correspond to pseudo-first-order kinetics. The reaction rate constant (kapp) obtained from the unmodified BiVO4 photocatalyst was higher than that of the BiVO4 photocatalyst synthesized with the modification of the addition of EDTA.