A study of Lignin and color removal from Anaerobically Treated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (AT-POME)

Abstract

Lignin is an organic (aromatic polymer group) that acts as a binder for wood cellulose fibers and certain plants. Palm oil mill effluent is highly contaminated wastewater that can pollute the environment directly because of the high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), color and odor. The main purpose of this study is to remove lignin and color from anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent (AT-POME). Therefore, the optimum parameters for type of acid, pH and reaction time was determines for maximum removal of tannin-lignin. There are three factors Central Composite Design (CCD) and „RSM‟ method was used to identify design and optimize process performance. The results of the experiment have shown that by using nitric acid (H₂NO₃) 47.89% of lignin successfully eliminated while colors successfully eliminated as much as 86.68%. In optimum conditions the percentage (%) of maximum removal of lignin and color using nitric acid (H₂NO₃) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) was 44.16% and 86.74% respectively. In conclusion, lignin and color successfully removed by changing the pH of AT-POME to acidic environment.