See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/351847571

Combining Grease Trap and Moringa Oleifera as Adsorbent to Treat

Wastewater Restaurant

Article in South African Journal of Chemical Engineering · May 2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.sajce.2021.05.004

CITATIONS READS

11 285

2 authors, including:

Novirina Hendrasarie
UPN "Veteran" Jawa Timur
41 PUBLICATIONS 48 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Adsorbent View project

Pengaruh Kecepatan Arus Terhadap Kualitas Air di Kali Surabaya View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Novirina Hendrasarie on 30 June 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

South African Journal of Chemical Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sajce

Combining grease trap and Moringa Oleifera as adsorbent to treat

wastewater restaurant
Novirina Hendrasarie *, Stevanya Hana Maria
Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur, Indonesia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This research’s main goal is to decrease the concentration of fats and oils, phosphorus, and organic material in
Fat oil grease the wastewater. This study, therefore, explored the use of activated Moringa oleifera as an alternative adsorbent
Three-compartment grease trap for decreasing the phosphate concentration and organic material as BOD5 via the adsorption process. A grease
Moringa oleifera adsorbent
trap was used to catch fats and oils, separated into three compartments. The use of these three compartments
Activated carbon
aimed to improve the efficiency of grease traps. In the meantime, adsorption was used to decrease the con­
centration of BOD5 and phosphate. moringa oleifera and commercial activated carbon (Powdered Activated
Carbon, that produced from carbonaceous raw materials, coconut shell, and wood) were the adsorption media
used in this analysis. The findings of this study showed the grease trap capability in which it could remove
89.83% of fats and oils by using three compartments. When considering the optimum condition achieved by
using moringa oleifera as the adsorbent, it was found that more than 85% of both BOD5 and phosphate can be
removed with an adsorbent height of 15 cm and an adsorption tube diameter of 15 cm. Additionally, Thomas
Model was fitted by moringa oleifera and commercial adsorbents to explain the pattern of adsorption of BOD5 and
phosphate in wastewater. The results of the model showed a maximum reduction in BOD5 690 mg/g and
phosphate 0.215 mg/g by moringa oleivera adsorbents. This research investigated the effectiveness of Moringa
oleifera as an adsorbent, cnsidering the basic surface area characteristics, pore diameter, and pore volume of
Moringa oleifera as an adsorbent.

1. Introduction
Restaurants in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, have risen by up to
20% a year. This affects the increased amount of wastewater generated
by the restaurants and may become a major environmental issue. A large
amount of contamination from the restaurants was caused by the
wastewater. The excessive amount of wastewater that reaches water
bodies contributes to elevated amounts of BOD5, phosphorus, fats, and
oils (triglycerides) in the water. The wastewater should be treated to
handle this issue to reduce the number of pollutants to normal values.
The proposed technology used in this study for treating restaurant
wastewater is bio sorbent technology. Bio sorbent is the mechanism by
which organic compounds, ions, or molecules are absorbed on a material
surface. Form of material that has potential as an absorbent material is a
lot of tropical agricultural waste, one of which is moringa seeds (Hen­
drasarie and Trilta, 2019).
Moringa oleifera is a shrub type that has a stem height of 7–11 m. The
stem is fragile (easily broken), and it has unusual branches with solid
roots. The leaves are oval in a single stem, with small compound parts.
(Annadurai et al., 2002) Moringa seeds can be used as organic matter
adsorbents, water-treated coagulants, and harmless organic polymers.
Moringa fruit seeds contain the active ingredient
rhamnosyloxy-benzil-isothiocyante which is capable of absorbing and
neutralizing mud and metal particles found in suspended wastes with
water-floating dirt particles.
Moringa oleifera is a multipurpose tree with a lot of promise, and it is
being actively promoted in many developing countries right now.
(Bleiman and Mishael, 2010) (Vieira et al., 2010)Water-soluble, posi­
tively charged proteins found in the seeds of this tropical tree serve as an
important coagulant for water and wastewater treatment. Some research
used the Moringa oleifera as an adsorbent to remove organic contami­
nants (Akhtar et al., 2007) and metals from aqueous solutions (Kindi
et al., 2020; Bhatti et al., 2007; Sharma et al., 2006). It has also been
used in conjunction with chemical adsorbents recently (Jagaba et al.,
2018)(Bassyouni et al., 2017). The findings were obtained through a
method that took 60 min and yielded an average percentage reduction of

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: novirina@upnjatim.ac.id (N. Hendrasarie), vanyahanmar@gmail.com (S.H. Maria).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajce.2021.05.004
Received 25 December 2020; Received in revised form 2 May 2021; Accepted 13 May 2021
Available online 25 May 2021
1026-9185/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
Fig. 1. Moringa Oleifera as adsorbent, (a) before adsorbent, (b) as adsorbent.
80–90%. This study used Moringa oleifera as an adsorbent, and what sets
it apart from previous studies is the method for making Moringa oleifera
as an adsorbent, which enlarges the pores of the Moringa oleifera
adsorbent. Moringa oleifera ’s efficacy as an adsorbent in high organic
loading waste with BOD5 content exceeding 3327 mg/L and oil-grease
content up to 4000 mg/L is expected to improve because of this.
2. Theory and formula
Moringa oleifera, or Marongghi, is one of the adsorbents used in this
study. Moringa oleifera or Marongghi is a genus of 7–11-m-tall shrubs. Its
seeds contain a high level of function (concentration), its oil can be used
as cooking oil, it can be used as an additional ingredient for soap making
and as a water purifier (Ali et al., 2012,; Hazzaa and Hussein, 2015,
Ahmed and Theydan, 2015). Marongghi is one form of natural antioxi­
dant source, as it contains various compounds of antioxidants such as
ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolic, and carotenoids (Mohan et al.,
2001). Moringa seeds contain the active ingredient of
rhamnosyloxy-benzil-isothiocyante which is capable of absorbing and
neutralizing wastewater particles. (Nayl et al., 2017) Fig. 1
The grease trap, a device intended to reduce the fats and oils in
wastewater (Mohan et al., 2001; Nayl et al., 2017). The grease trap unit
is fitted with an oil separator that uses a variety of baffle chambers to
slow the wastewater flow as it passes through this unit (Ahmed and
Theydan, 2015; Dotto and Pinto, 2011; Hidayati et al., 2016). The
organic material in the wastewater is separated after the removal of the
fats and oils from the wastewater by the adsorption process.
The interaction between the adsorbent and the adsorbate occurs only
on the adsorbent surface during adsorption. Because adsorption is a
surface symptom, the larger the surface area, the more substance will be
adsorbed. The nature of the adsorbent influence’s adsorption. Because of
physical and chemical processes, C (carbon) and H (hydrogen) chains in
BOD5 and phosphate pollutants are readily adsorbed.(Vázquez et al.,
2007)(Nor et al., 2013)
Physical adsorption is accompanied by chemical adsorption as the
Fig. 2. Step of adsorbent making using Moringa oleifera.
197
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
adsorption process. Physical adsorption is a back-and-forth process that
is related to Van der Waals forces(Dahlan and Sari, 2006). If the
attractive attraction between the solute and the adsorbent is greater
than the attractive attraction between the solute and the solvent, the
dissolved substance will be adsorbed on the adsorbent surface. This
physical adsorption occurs in low-temperature substances with low
adsorption. Because physical adsorption has the same degree of
condensation heat from the gas to a liquid, the force that holds the
adsorption of fluid molecules is usually achieved quickly and is revers­
ible due to the very low energy requirements.(Fiuza et al., 2015)(Slamet
and Erdawati, 2013)
Following that, the chemical adsorption mechanism is maintained
due to the chemical bonds formed between the adsorbate molecules and
the adsorbent surface. Chemical bonds can be covalent or ionic. Because
the bonds formed were so strong, the original species could not be found.
The adsorbate is difficult to desorb due to the strong chemical bonds
formed. Chemical adsorption occurs when an adsorbate forms bonds
with the surface, which are usually covalent. (Atkins, 1989)(Zhang
et al., 2011)
Measuring the concentration of the effluent is not easy. One way to
ease the process is by using the platform Thomas (Asgari et al., 2013;
Ling et al., 2010). One of the basic parameters in process design is the
effluent concentration of the adsorption column. The Thomas model
provides the determination of the adsorbent potential based on the
concentrations of influences and effluents, the flow rate, and the volume
of the solute moved in the adsorbent column (Asgari et al., 2013; Ling
et al., 2010). The model is formulated according to the following.
Ln[(Co / Ct )] = (Kth qo x / Q) − Kth Co t (1)
where:
Kth = Thomas kinetic constant (L/mg/min)
qo = Maximum capacity of Adsorption (mg/g)
X = Mass of adsorbent in the column (g)
Q = Flow rate (L/min)
Co = influent (initial concentration) (mg/L)
t = Time (min)
Ct = Effluent concentration (mg/L) (Asnawati et al., 2017)
To evaluate the adsorption capacity, by interacting the solvent with
the adsorbent, a dynamic and continuous system tends to give a better
result than other systems (Dawood et al., 2017; Asnawati et al., 2017).
However, a model which can be used to calculate the adsorption po­
tential on the continuous system is the Thomas model based on the
influential and effluent flow rate on the flow process, and the solute and
adsorbent contact time (Annadurai et al., 2002; Asgari et al., 2013). The
performance of the adsorption column can be presented in a break­
through curve in which the breakthrough time and the shape of the
breakthrough curve represent the fundamental characteristics for
determining the adsorption column’s dynamic activity and response.
This state will determine the time the adsorbent is used and the time of
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
Fig. 3. Schematic of the research process.
Fig. 4. Schematic of the Grease Trap.
Table 1
The Grease Trap’s compartment functions.
Compartment Information
1st The first compartment to receive restaurant wastewater is the
compartment first compartment. A filter has been attached to the top of the
compartment to filter fat and food wastewater from the
wastewater stream into the filter. The wastewater flows steadily
to the second compartment after passing through the filter,
through the lower opening of the bulkhead between the first and
second compartments, while the oil-grease floats on top.
2nd The second compartment has a second bulkhead in the center,
Compartment which allows flow-through from the top of the bulkhead,
trapping the oil and grease in the second compartment.
Furthermore, the waste flow, which is beginning to clear, is
guided to the 3rd bulkhead through the lower opening.
3rd The oil grease has been removed in compartments 1st and 2nd so
Compartment that in compartment 3rd, it is hoped that there will be no oil
grease, which eventually leaves the effluent through the outlet
pipe.
regeneration which will ultimately influence the process’s economic
values (Al- Abachi, 2013; Burakov et al., 2018; Ahmaruzzaman and
Sharma, 2005). Thus, the target of optimizing wastewater treatment at
the restaurant was achieved, using grease trap and Moringa oleifera
activated carbon with a fixed bed column system by Thomas model.
3. Experimental setup
3.1. Adsorbent preparation and characterization
The activated charcoals that were produced were dried to a constant
weight in the oven and cooled as an adsorbent in desiccators. Fig. 2
198
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
3.2. Degradation of fats and oils and organic material in the wastewater
The operational principle is as follows. First, water was pumped into
the equalization tank from the initial wastewater tank, by regulating the
discharge at 1 L / min. The water then flowed into the grease trap inlet.
In the grease pit, 60 min of wastewater flowed horizontally through the
baffles. This managed to float the contents of oil and grease. The
wastewater continued processing through the adsorption phase after
reaching the grease trap drain, which was divided into two columns that
had been loaded with different adsorbents. After the wastewater
adsorption column had been in contact for a certain period, sampling
was carried out and checking in the laboratory for its parameters. For
this analysis, the wastewater flow rate was maintained at 1 L / minute,
and the adsorbent size was 100 mesh. A stainless-steel filter with a pore
size of 200 mesh is inserted into the underdrain to keep the adsorbent
from interfering with the outflow effluent. This is the best size for
avoiding effluent in the adsorbent and maintaining a steady flow. Here is
a photo of a 200-mesh filter. The variables from this analysis consisted of
the adsorbent media types and heights. Moringa oleifera and commercial
activated carbon were the types of adsorbents used in this study. The
adsorbent average heights were 10 and 15 cm. Fig. 3
A grease trap is a control tub that separates oil and grease from
wastewater, allowing it to be quickly collected and removed. Fig. 4
shows how the Grease Trap was designed. The Grease Trap Schematic
Table 1
The initial characteristics of the wastewater sample taken at the
Padang Cuisine Restaurant in Surabaya, Indonesia. With an initial BOD5
average of about 3327 mg / L, phosphate was 0.993 mg / L, and fat and
oil were 4083 mg / L.
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205

Table 2 of the adsorption and desorption curves. Type VI is distinguished by a

The concentration of fats and oils at some sampling points. highly homogeneous two-dimensional solid, such as graphite. (Sapalidis
Sampling Oil concentration (mg/l) Percentage of the et al., 2011)(Nor et al., 2013)
Point Initial Treated removal (%) The microstructure of the activated carbons prepared was examined
wastewater wastewater by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with type Hitachi Flex SEM
Tank 4083 3753 8.08 1000. The SEM images were processed with ImageJ software to deter­
Grease Trap I 3753 2468 34.24 mine the size distribution of the activated carbon produced. Surface
Grease Trap II 2468 947 61.63 properties of activated carbon prepared from wastewater surface func­
Grease Trap 947 96.33 89.83
III
tional groups were determined by Fourier to transform infrared spectra
(FTIR) (Perkin Elmer).
Source: Analysis result, 2019.
4. Results and discussion
3.3. Pore structure characterization
For this research, a general explanation is the removal of BOD5,
The surface area and pore volume of the moringa oleifera adsorbent phosphate, oil, and fat in restaurant wastewater using the grease trap
and commercial (PAC) adsorbent were quantitatively determined using method and the adsorption technique. This research was carried out in a
the nitrogen isotherm adsorption-desorption method (NOVA 1200, process that was continuing. Dividing this research into three stages.
Quantachrome). Before the analysis, samples of moringa oleifera First, Moringa seeds are activated to become adsorbents. Furthermore, a
adsorbent and commercial (PAC) adsorbent were degassed at 300 ◦ C preliminary experiment to get the maximum adsorption rate. Second,
under nitrogen gas for 3 h. The area was determined by the Brunauer- evaluate the reduction of the fat oil content through the adsorption
Emmett-Teller (BET) method at a relative pressure of < 0.3, while the process using grease trap, BOD5, and phosphate methods with com­
pore volume was calculated from the desorption-adsorption profile data mercial activated carbon adsorbents and Moringa oleifera activated
of the isothermal desorption branch using Barret-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) carbon.
at the relative pressure close to 1.0.(Yahya et al., 2015)
There are six types of adsorption isotherms, according to the Inter­
4.1. The capacity of grease trap
national Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Micropore
materials (d < 20 Å) are characterized by Type I isotherms. Type II and
Until it was treated using the adsorption process, a grease trap was
Type III isotherms in mesoporous materials (20 Å < d < 500 Å) with
used to remove the fats and oil from the restaurant wastewater. The
strong adsorbate and adsorbent interactions. The interaction between
average reduction in fats and oils as shown in Table 2 was 89.83%.
the adsorbate and the adsorbent is predicted to be too weak in Type IV
It can be seen from Table 2 above that there was an allowance for the
and Type V macropore materials (d> 500 Å) with multilayer formation
fat oil parameter of 89.83% in the grease trap. The reduction of fatty oil

Fig. 5. Restaurant wastewater (a) initial wastewater condition; The Grease Trap processes wastewater into three compartments: (b) first, (c) second, and (d) third.
Restaurant wastewater (a) Initial wastewater condition; (b) Wastewater conditions after passing through the three stages of grease trap: (I) first, (ii) second, and (iii) third.

199
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
Fig 6. The breakthrough curve for BOD5 in the adsorption process effluent.
Fig. 7. The breakthrough phosphate curve in adsorption process effluent.
content in the container occurred by 8.08%. This was because the waste
has no movement so that the level of fat oil has started to float in the
container before the waste passes through processing in the grease trap
unit, with a 1 L / minute discharge at the waste volume of ± 40 l. In
comparison one, in the duration of ± 20 min, the grease trap was able to
remove a fat oil content of 34.24%. For contrast two, the grease trap will
remove 61.63% of fat oil in a period of ± 40 min. The oil content of 89.83%
in ± 60 min’ period can be removed in the Compartment Grease Trap III.
Due to the physical process, the process of removing the fatty oil
levels occurs. This is because there are physical changes that occur in
each compartment’s waste conditions that are not accompanied by the
formation of new substances, only the fat oil level contained in the
wastewater is increased to the surface and separated from the water.
Separation of fat oil with water occurs as fat oil has a lighter density than
water (the oil density is 0.8 g / cm3; water density is 1 g/cm3).
From this trapping treatment, it can also be seen that the trapping
process produces 89% fat-oil-free waste, while the majority is still
transported through outlet pipes by wastewater. So that the residual fat
oil found in the wastewater causes difficulty getting sunlight into the
water which causes a reduction in the demand for oxygen in the water.
This can be seen from the content of BOD5 and phosphate that still meets
200
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
the quality level, as the remaining unprocessed fatty oil covers the
surface of the water body so that if the oxygen demand reduces as
sunlight cannot reach the water, the BOD5 content in the waste will
increase. From this, the efficiency of the unit must be assessed such that
the waste discharged into the body of water complies with the specifi­
cations of the wastewater quality standards. The method of adsorption is
the unit output assessment which can be applied to overcome the levels
of waste that have not yet met the quality standard of wastewater
treated by grease trap. Fig. 5
4.2. Determination of Cn / Co adsorbent value
Preliminary research on BOD5 absorption was developed to deter­
mine the breakthrough point time and saturation point, as it would
determine when the media should be generated.
a Biological Oxygen Demand
It was found from the study results that the time that occurred to
reach the breakthrough point at Cn / Co = 0.09 in commercial adsor­
bents and 0.10 in moringa oleivera adsorbents was reached in the 40th
minute. While Cn / Co = 0.85 in commercial adsorbents is the time to
reach the saturation point in the 100th minute and 0.86 in moringa
oleivera adsorbents Fig. 6
The curve above shows that the breakthrough point was reached at
40 min with a flow rate of 1 L / min and an absorbent height of 10 cm,
and the saturation point reached 100 min.
b. Phosphate
The curve above also shows that the breakthrough point was reached
at 40 min with a flow rate of 1 L / min and absorbent heights of 10 cm
and 15 cm, and the saturation point was reached at 100 min. Cn / Co =
0.11 in commercial adsorbents and 0.13 in Moringa oleivera adsorbents
were obtained in the 40th minute. While Cn / Co = 0.80 in commercial
adsorbents is the time to hit the saturation point in the 100th minute and
0.81 in moringa oleivera adsorbents Fig. 7
4.3. The effect of adsorbent height variation on BOD5 and phosphate
removal
A comparison was made in this study between two types of adsor­
bents, namely commercial activated carbon and activated carbon Mor­
inga oleifera, with two adsorbent heights of 10 cm and 15 cm at pH 7, and
a temperature of 25 ◦ C. The adsorbent height effect can be determined
by comparing the percentage of pollutant removal to the sampling
period for each adsorbent type.
In the results of the removal of BOD5 have a good and even distri­
bution of values as proved by adsorption values that are not very
different between commercial activated carbon adsorbents and Moringa
oleifera activated carbon. The optimum and highest BOD5 removal rate
at an adsorbent height of 15 cm was achieved using commercial acti­
vated carbon at 91.04% while the removal rate was 90.02% using
Moringa oleifera activated carbon.
The optimum removal rate of the phosphate at an adsorbent height of
15 cm was achieved by using commercial activated carbon at 89.02%,
while by using Moringa oleifera activated carbon at 87.31%. Optimum
removal occurred in the 40th minute, and there was a decrease in
removal efficiency in subsequent times.
4.4. The determination of optimum adsorbent capacity using Thomas
model
To determine adsorption capacity (mg/g) and kinetics of the
adsorption model, experiments were carried out using the single-column
method, restaurant wastewater as a sample, Moringa oleifera seeds as
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205

Fig. 8. The relationship between sampling time and the percentage of BOD and phosphate removal in different adsorbent types with: (a) adsorbent height of 10 cm,
removal of BOD5, (b) adsorbent height of 15 cm, removal of BOD5, (c) adsorbent height of 10 cm, removal of phosphate, (d) adsorbent height of 15 cm, removal
of phosphate.

Table 3
Thomas Model for removal of BOD and phosphate.
Height of adsorbent (cm) Type of adsorbent Model for BOD removal Model for Phosphate removal
Kth(L/min/mg) qo(mg/g) R2 Kth(L/min/mg) qo(mg/g) R2

10 Commercial activated carbon 0.00000844 828.24 0.8040 0.0197 0.3 0.8295

10 Moringa Oleivera activated carbon 0.0000111 690.00 0.8025 0.0251 0.25 0.877
15 Commercial activated carbon 0.00000718 875.47 0.9197 0.02 0.3 0.9075
15 Moringa Oleivera activated carbon 0.0000108 633.00 0.9096 0.02 0.24 0.9249

the Thomas constant is considered not much different in each variation

Table 4
of the type of adsorbent and the height of the adsorbent since the po­
Using the BET method, analyze data from commercial activated carbon and
sition of the saturation point does not vary significantly between the two
Moringa oleifera as an adsorbent.
types of adsorbent and the height of the adsorbent used.
Sample The specific surface area (m2/g)
With the determination coefficient (R2) obtained from the experi­
Commercial adsorbent 1438.503 mental results reaching 0.90, it shows that external and internal diffu­
Moringa Oleifera adsorbent 418.054 sion is not possible. The adsorption mechanism has an impact.
Therefore, the Thomas Model is suitable for illustrating adsorption of the
adsorbent, and the basic sampling time of data collection. In this study, column kinetics. According to the chemical process of monolayer
the kinetics of adsorption systems that occurred in fixed-bed columns adsorption, BOD5 and phosphate were adsorbed to adsorbent from the
were analyzed using the Thomas model which is one of the most point of view of the adsorption system at the molecular level by elec­
commonly used column performance theories (Ghodale and Kankal, trostatic interactions between groups of anionic carboxyl and cationic
2014; Dai et al., 2018). material molecules.
Table 3 shows the results of the Thomas equation of constant (Kth) It was also found from the Thomas equation above calculation that
and adsorption capacity (qo). The results of the calculation show that the maximum absorbance capacity was achieved in the variation of the

201
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205

Fig. 9. N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms of Moringa Oleifera (a) and commercial (b) activated carbon.

use of commercial activated carbon adsorbents for BOD5 at a height of

Table 5 15 cm, which was 875,47 mg/gram, meaning that 875,47 mg of BOD5
Using the BJH method, analyze data from commercial activated carbon and adsorbent could be absorbed in 1 gram of commercial activated carbon
Moringa Oleivera as an adsorbent. adsorbent. While this highest adsorbent potential for phosphate pa­
Sample Pore-volume (cm3/ Pore Diameter (Å) Pore type rameters is reached in variations in the use of commercially activated
g /g) carbon adsorbent types with a height of 15 cm which is equal to 0.3 mg/
Commercial (PAC) 2.283 33.845 Å – 33.989 Mesopore gram, this means that 0.3 mg of phosphate adsorbent can be absorbed in
adsorbent Å 1 g of commercially activated carbon adsorbents.
Moringa Oleifera 0.741 33.445 Å – 34.111 Mesopore The difference in absorbance potential between commercial acti­
adsorbent Å
vated carbon compared to Moringa oleifera activated carbon for each
parameter was considered insignificant, proving that the use of Moringa
oleifera activated carbon could be an option as an adsorbent to minimize
BOD5 and phosphate in restaurant wastewater.

Fig. 10. SEM analysis results: (a) commercial activated carbon before adsorption (b) commercial activated carbon after adsorption; (c) activated carbon Moringa
oleifera seed before adsorption; (d) activated carbon Moringa oleifera after adsorption, at a magnification 2000 times.

202
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
Fig. 11. FTIR Research findings on (a) commercial activated carbon before adsorption; (b) commercial activated carbon after adsorption; (c) activated carbon
Moringa oleifera before adsorption; (d) activated carbon Moringa oleifera after adsorption.
4.5. Surface area analyzer of adsorbent
The specific surface area, pore-volume, and pore size are all impor­
tant factors that influence the adsorbent’s efficiency. The BET method
can be used to calculate the surface area of a sample (Demiral et al.,
2008). The BET theory is based on the adsorption process and the
isotherm concept of adsorption (Langmuir theory). The mechanism that
occurs during the adsorption process is gas solid. As an adsorbed ma­
terial (adsorbate) and as an absorber, gas has been used (adsorbent). The
amount of gas consumed will determine the pore size of the adsorbent.
Based on the results of the BET analysis in Table 4, data is obtained as
shown.
To determine the pore structure of the obtained activated carbon,
measurements were taken using N2 gas adsorption-desorption to obtain
an isotherm curve, as shown in Fig. 8. N2 adsorption/desorption iso­
therms of Moringa oleifera and commercial activated carbon.
Most of the pores obtained using the BJH (Barret-Joyner-Halenda)
method are mesopores, according to the results of the calculations. This
is consistent with the Type III characteristics for materials with a mes­
opore structure as shown in Fig. 9, which is based on the type of
adsorption isotherm.
Tables 4 and 5, shows that commercial adsorbents (PAC) have a
larger surface area, total pore volume, and pore radius than Moringa
oleifera. This can be seen in a photo taken with an SEM (Scanning
Electron Microscope) to determine the morphological characteristics of
the adsorbent pores. The size and surface area of the particles are two
adsorbent characteristics that influence the adsorption rate. The faster
the absorption rate, the smaller the adsorbent, and the more adsorbate
particles absorbed, the larger the adsorbent surface area (Demiral et al.,
2008). The pore shape characters of the two adsorbents have different
characteristics, as shown in Fig. 10. The pore structure of the PAC is
elongated, deep, and irregular. Moringa oleifera, on the other hand, has
203
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
pores that are ring-like, expanded, shallow, and have a more uniform
structure.
Fig. 10. The results of the SEM analysis on adsorbents, in particular
the surface morphology of activated carbon with a magnification of
2000 times, show that activated carbon has a rough and irregular sur­
face of the pore. The formation and enlargement of pores were caused by
the evaporation of degraded organic compounds (Attallah et al., 2013;
Syafalni et al., 2012). The reduction of hydrocarbon compounds has
resulted in highly visible surfaces of activated carbon. The structure of
the pores formed came from the evaporation and dissolution by the
pyrolysis process of non-carbon compounds found in the raw material so
that it left some space that formed pores (Mittal et al., 2010; Trigo et al.,
2011). In Moringa oleifera the pores were smaller than commercial ad­
sorbents and showed the results of successful adsorption after the
adsorption process. It was due to the presence of organic material that
was absorbed into the pores so that the open pores were closed.
The functional groups found in activated carbon in the form of cel­
lulose (C6H10O5), an organic compound on activated carbon that acts as
a pollutant absorbent component in the adsorption process, were
determined using FTIR analysis. The hydroxyl group in the cellulose
chain is the functional group. A molecule with a hydroxyl group is
referred to as alcohol (Sapalidis et al., 2011).
Fig. 11 shows the FTIR test for commercial activated carbon as well
as the Moringa oleifera seed activated carbon based on the percentage of
transmission (%T) and wavelength.
The absorption bands of phosphate, carbonate, hydroxy, and other
nanoparticles can be seen in the IR spectrum of the test sample. It is the
stretching field of hydrogen, which occurs due to stretching motions of
hydrogen atoms or other atoms, at a wavelength of 3700–2700 cm− 1.
Stretching vibrations from O–H caused an adsorption peak in the
3700–3100 cm-1 range. The presence of carbonate, hydroxy, and other
nanoparticles adsorb in the IR spectrum at this wavelength, indicating
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
that one of them is BOD5. The structural change caused by the C–H
vibration causes the peaks to migrate towards the limit. It is a PO4
category with a wavelength of 463–2000 cm− 1. (Sapalidis et al., 2011)
The interesting aspect of this research, which sets it apart from
previous research, is to provide an alternative to the green adsorbent,
namely Moringa oleifera seed waste, as a green adsorbent, using a unique
adsorbent preparation process, which is expected to reduce BOD5 and
phosphate like PAC as a commercial adsorbent. And it has been proved
that Moringa Oleifera, as an adsorbent, has a diameter of mesopore size,
which is optimal for particle absorption. And some of its properties, such
as the ability to recover organic content, are nearly identical to those of
an adsorbent in general, although with a slightly lower ability.
5. Conclusions
Based on the findings of this work described above, it can be
concluded that the use of Moringa oleifera activated carbon as an
adsorbent in a continuous adsorption cycle could optimally remove
90.02% BOD5 and 87.31% phosphate, while commercial activated car­
bon could optimally remove 91.04% BOD5 and 89.02% phosphat. At an
adsorbent height of 15 cm and an adsorption column diameter of 15 cm,
the optimum condition was achieved. The Thomas model’s imple­
mentation resulted, in the achievement of the highest absorbance po­
tential for BOD5 parameter equal to 875.47 mg/g, phosphate equal to
0.3 mg/g. Usage of a grease trap unit in restaurant wastewater to reduce
oil and grease was successful as it could remove up to 89.83% of the oil
and grease. Moringa oleifera activated carbon was observed on the bio
sorbent surface after biosorption by SEM and FTIR. The pore form of
Moringa oleifera adsorbent and commercial adsorbent has been discov­
ered to be mesopore, which has strong adsorbate and adsorbent in­
teractions. The technique of enlarging the pores of Moringa oleifera as an
adsorbent effectively absorbs organic content with high organic loading.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Novirina Hendrasarie: . Stevanya Hana Maria: Writing – review &
editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper. The authors declare the following
financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as
potential competing interests: I do not have financial interests and
personal relationships so that it can affect the work relationship and can
also affect interests
Supplementary materials
Supplementary material associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajce.2021.05.004.
References
Hendrasarie, N., Trilta, M.N., 2019. Removal of nitrogen-phosphorus in food wastewater
treatment by the Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) and Rotating Biological Contactor
(RBC). IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci. 245 (1) https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-
1315/245/1/012017.
Annadurai, G., Juang, R.S., Lee, D.J., 2002. Use of cellulose-based wastes for adsorption
of dyes from aqueous solutions. J. Hazard. Mater. 92 (3), 263–274. https://doi.org/
10.1016/S0304-3894(02)00017-1.
Ali, I., Asim, M., Khan, T.A., 2012. Low-cost adsorbents for the removal of organic
pollutants from wastewater. J. Environ. Manage. 113, 170–183. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.08.028.
Hazzaa, R., Hussein, M., 2015. Adsorption of cationic dye from aqueous solution onto
activated carbon prepared from olive stones. Environ. Technol. Innov. 4, 36–51.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2015.04.002.
204
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
Ahmed, M.J., Theydan, S.K., 2015. Adsorptive removal of p-nitrophenol on microporous
activated carbon by FeCl3 activation: equilibrium and kinetics studies. Desalin.
Water Treat. 55 (2), 522–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2014.920731.
Mohan, D., Gupta, V.K., Srivastava, S.K., Chander, S., 2001. Kinetics of mercury
adsorption from wastewater using activated carbon derived from fertilizer waste.
Colloids Surfaces A Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 177 (2–3), 169–181. https://doi.org/
10.1016/S0927-7757(00)00669-5.
Nayl, A.E.A., et al., 2017. Adsorption studies on the removal of COD and BOD from
treated sewage using activated carbon prepared from date palm waste. Environ. Sci.
Pollut. Res. 24 (28), 22284–22293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9878-4.
Dotto, G.L., Pinto, L.A.A., 2011. Adsorption of food dyes onto chitosan: optimization
process and kinetic. Carbohydr. Polym. 84 (1), 231–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
carbpol.2010.11.028.
Hidayati, P., Ulfin, I., Juwono, H., 2016. Adsorption of remazol brilliant blue R, using
nata de coco: dosage optimization. J. Sains dan Seni ITS 5 (2), 134–136.
Asgari, G., Ramavandi, B., Farjadfard, S., 2013. Abatement of azo dye from wastewater
using bimetal-chitosan. Sci. World J. 2013 https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/476271
no. April 2014.
Ling, P., et al., 2010. Adsorption of divalent heavy metal ions onto IDA-chelating resins:
simulation of physicochemical structures and elucidation of interaction mechanisms.
Talanta 81 (1–2), 424–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2009.12.019.
Dawood, S., Sen, T.K., Phan, C., 2017. Synthesis and characterization of slow pyrolysis
pine cone biochar in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from aqueous
solution by adsorption: kinetic, equilibrium, mechanism and thermodynamic.
Bioresour. Technol. 246, 76–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.019.
Asnawati, A., Kharismaningrum, R.R., Andarini, N., 2017. Determination of cellulose
adsorption capacity against rhodamine B in dynamic systems. J. Kim. Ris. 2 (1), 23.
https://doi.org/10.20473/jkr.v2i1.3553.
Mittal, A., Mittal, J., Malviya, A., Kaur, D., Gupta, V.K., 2010. Adsorption of hazardous
dye crystal violet from wastewater by waste materials. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 343
(2), 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2009.11.060.
Trigo, M., Medvidović, N.V., Perić, J., 2011. Application of mathematical empirical
models to dynamic removal of lead on natural zeolite clinoptilolite in a fixed bed
column. Indian J. Chem. Technol. 18 (2), 123–131.
Zhang, W., et al., 2011. Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by the straw-
based adsorbent in a fixed-bed column. Chem. Eng. J. 173 (2), 429–436. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.cej.2011.08.001.
Al- Abachi, M.Q., 2013. Evaluation of poly acrylic acid(PAA) hydrogel beads as
adsorbent for the removal of lead(II)ion from water. J. Al-Nahrain Univ. Sci. 16 (3),
30–39. https://doi.org/10.22401/jnus.16.3.04.
Burakov, A.E., et al., 2018. Adsorption of heavy metals on conventional and
nanostructured materials for wastewater treatment purposes: a review. Ecotoxicol.
Environ. Saf. 148, 702–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.(2017).11.034.
November.
Ahmaruzzaman, M., Sharma, D.K., 2005. Adsorption of phenols from wastewater.
J. Colloid Interface Sci. 287 (1), 14–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2005.01.075.
Ghodale, M.D., Kankal, S.B., 2014. Investigation of optimum operating parameters for
BOD & COD removal using activated carbon. Int. J. Recent Dev. Eng. Technol. 2 (4),
38–43.
Dai, L., et al., 2018. Calcium-rich biochar from crab shell: an unexpected super adsorbent
for dye removal. Bioresour. Technol. 267, 510–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
biortech.2018.07.090. July.
Vázquez, I., Rodríguez-Iglesias, J., Marañón, E., Castrillón, L., Álvarez, M., 2007.
Removal of residual phenols from coke wastewater by adsorption. J. Hazard. Mater.
147 (1–2), 395–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.01.019.
Nor, N.M., Lau, L.C., Lee, K.T., Mohamed, A.R., 2013. Synthesis of activated carbon from
lignocellulosic biomass and its applications in air pollution control - A review.
J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 1 (4), 658–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.
(2013).09.017.
Fiuza, R.A., Medeiros de, R., Neto, J., Correia, L.B., Carvalho Andrade, H.M., 2015.
Preparation of granular activated carbons from yellow mombin fruit stones for CO2
adsorption. J. Environ. Manag. 161, 198–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jenvman.2015.06.053.
Bassyouni, D.G., Hamad, H.A., El-Ashtoukhy, E.S.Z., Amin, N.K., El-Latif, M.M.A., 2017.
Comparative performance of anodic oxidation and electrocoagulation as clean
processes for electrocatalytic degradation of diazo dye Acid Brown 14 in an aqueous
medium. J. Hazard. Mater. 335, 178–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.
(2017).04.045.
Attallah, M.F., Ahmed, I.M., Hamed, M.M., 2013. Treatment of industrial wastewater
containing Congo Red and Naphthol Green B using low-cost adsorbent. Environ. Sci.
Pollut. Res. 20 (2), 1106–1116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0947-4.
Syafalni, S., Abustan, I., Dahlan, I., Wah, C.K., Umar, G., 2012. Treatment of dye
wastewater using granular activated carbon and zeolite filter. Mod. Appl. Sci. 6 (2),
37–51. https://doi.org/10.5539/mas.v6n2p37.
Slamet, R., Erdawati, 2013. Adsorption of Congo red using chitosan montmorilonite in
batch and column method. Int. J. Chem. Petrochem. Technol. 3 (2), 13–24.
Yahya, M.A., Al-Qodah, Z., Ngah, C.W.Z., 2015. Agricultural bio-waste materials as
potential sustainable precursors used for activated carbon production: a review.
Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 46, 218–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
rser.2015.02.051.
Bleiman, N., Mishael, Y.G., 2010. Selenium removal from drinking water by adsorption
to chitosan-clay composites and oxides: batch and columns tests. J. Hazard. Mater.
183 (1–3), 590–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.07.065.
Demiral, Hakan, Demiral, Ilknur, Tümsek, Fatma, Karabacakoğlu, Belgin, 2008. Pore
structure of activated carbon prepared from hazelnut bagasse by chemical
N. Hendrasarie and S.H. Maria
activation. Surf. Interface Anal.: Int. J. Dev. Dev. Appl. Tech. Anal. Surf., Interfaces,
Thin Films 40 (3–4), 616–619.
Sapalidis, Andreas A., Fotios K. Katsaros, and Nick K. Kanellopoulos. "PVA/
montmorillonite nanocomposites: development and properties." Nanocomp. Polym.
Anal. Methods (2011): 29–50.
K. Dahlan, Sari, Sodjoko, "Characterization of phosphate and carbonate clauses inside rat
bones with Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR), J. Sains Mater.
Indonesia, (2006).
Atkins, P.W., General Chemistry, New York Scientific Americans Book, 2nd ed., 1989.
Vieira, A.M.S., Vieira, M.F., Silva, G.F., Araújo, Á.A., Fagundes-Klen, M.R., Veit, M.T.,
Bergamasco, R., 2010. Use of Moringa oleifera seed as a natural adsorbent for
wastewater treatment. Water Air Soil Pollut. 206 (1), 273–281.
Jagaba, A.H., Abubakar, S., Lawal, I.M., Latiff, Ab A.A., Umaru, I., 2018. Wastewater
treatment using alum, the combinations of alum-ferric chloride, alum-chitosan,
205
View publication stats
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering 37 (2021) 196–205
alum-zeolite, and alum-moringa oleifera as adsorbent and coagulant. Int. J. Eng.
Manag. 2 (3), 67.
Kindi, Al, Ghayda, Y., Gomaa, G.F., 2020. Combined adsorbent best (chemical and
natural) coagulation process for removing some heavy metals from wastewater. Int.
J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 17 (7), 3431–3448.
Akhtar, M., Hasany, S.M., Bhanger, M.I., Iqbal, S., 2007. Low-cost sorbents for the
removal of methyl parathion pesticide from aqueous solutions”. Chemosphere 66,
1829–1838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.09.006.
Bhatti, H.N., Mumtaz, B., Hanif, M.A., Nadeem, R., 2007. Removal of Zn (II) ions from
aqueous solution using Moringa oleifera Lam. (horseradish tree) biomass. Process
Biochem. 42, 547–553, 0.1016/j.procbio. 2006.10.009.
Sharma, P., Kumari, P., Srivastava, M.M., Srivastava, S., 2006. Removal of cadmium from
aqueous system by shelled Moringa oleifera Lam. seed powder. Bioresour. Technol.
97 (2), 299–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2005.02.034.