Removal of Nickel and Copper Ions Using Characterized Biochar Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches

Ang, Wei Seng (2025) Removal of Nickel and Copper Ions Using Characterized Biochar Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches. Masters thesis, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Excessive biomass waste from oil palm cultivation has been the focus of this study to turn the biomass waste into biochar for the removal of heavy metals in water due to the excessive use of agrochemical and improper disposal of municipal and industrial waste. The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of adsorption of biochar derived from oil palm empty fruit bunches fiber on nickel and copper ions in water. The fiber derived from oil palm EFB was pyrolyzed to obtain biochar under inert conditions, without oxygen, at high temperatures. FEB and PEB yield were characterized using FESEM, BET, EDX, FTIR, and methylene blue adsorption test. The removal efficiencies of nickel and copper ions in water by the biochar were determined, and Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were established to determine the biochar's adsorption characteristics. The biochar was pyrolyzed at temperature ranging from 300°C to 700°C. FEB pyrolyzed at 500°C exhibited the highest removal efficiency for nickel and copper ions in water of 98% and 99% respectively. The methylene blue test indicated a gradual decrease in the surface area of the FEB from 129.34 m²/g to 65.41 m²/g as the pyrolyzed temperature increased from 300°C to 700°C. FTIR scanning revealed the disappearance of O-H, C-H, C=O, C=C, and C-O functional groups from the biochar surface at higher pyrolysis temperatures of the oil palm EFB fiber. FESEM scanning showed that the both FEB and PEB exhibited a highly porous surface morphology with cylindrical tube-like structures. BET surface analysis demonstrated that the BET and Langmuir surface areas of the FEB and PEB increased from 4.43 m²/g and 4.97 m²/g to 424.98 m²/g and 460.74 m²/g respectively, when pyrolyzed from 500°C to 700°C. EDX results revealed that nickel and copper ions were adsorbed on the FEB surface with weight percentages of 0.30 and 13.05 respectively. The adsorption of nickel ions onto the FEB was more appropriately fitted to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, with an R-square value of 0.9247, while the adsorption of copper ions was more appropriately fitted to the Freundlich adsorption isotherm, with an R-square value of 0.9961. Overall, the results indicate that oil palm EFB can be successfully converted into biochar and the results obtain further proved FEB has the better capability to adsorb and remove nickel and copper ions from water.