Authors : Siti Suraya bt Md Saharuni, Kamariah Noor Ismail and Noor Harliza Abd Razak
Abstract: This study investigates about the development of natural coagulant by extraction of coagulant from matured Petai Belalang peel due to its eco-friendly characteristic. Coagulant commonly used in wastewater treatment as alternative method in the treatment of wastewater due to cost effective. Chitin as natural coagulating agent in the matured Petai Belalang peel has been extracted using HCl solution in three different concentrations of 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 M. Two different analysis techniques have been employed to characterize the obtained chitin. Characterization of obtained chitin for the functional groups of chitin has been studied by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and the thermal properties were analyzed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for both extracted chitin and dried peel. The IR spectra of extracted chitin in 1.0 M solution showed the most similar corresponding band with the commercial chitin and displayed of α-chitin formation. The endothermic peaks and exothermic peaks for both extracted chitin and dried peel were studied on correspond towards loss of water and decomposition of polymer, respectively by DSC curve. From the observations, the curves showed the first peaks is corresponding to the loss of water around 70° upto 90°C and second peaks due to relaxation of endotherm around 120°-150°C. The dried peel in 1.0M solution, exothermic peaks showed around 300°C is corresponding to the decomposition of polymer in chitin. However, due to aging peel as raw material the chitin polymer may have degraded under the sun and reduced the chitin polymer content in the peel, therefore the exothermic peaks are not present in high concentration solution. Last but not least, it can be concluded that 1.0 M solution is the most suitable for chitin extraction in development of natural coagulant from matured Petai Belalang peel.
Siti Suraya bt Md Saharuni, Kamariah Noor Ismail and Noor Harliza Abd Razak, 2017. Development of Natural Coagulant from Matured Petail Belalang Peel. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 12: 3061-3067.