Koagulan Berbasis Kitosan dan Modifikasinya Dalam Proses Koagulasi –Flokulasi Suspensi Kaolin (Chitosan-Base Coagulants and its Modification in Coagulation-Flocculation of Kaolin Suspension)

Abstract

Coagulation-flocculation is one of the waste water treatments using coagulant/flocculants agent. Using coagulant/flocculants based on natural polymers were many used due to many available, renewable source, and environment friendly. One of that coagulant/flocculants was chitosan that can be produced through deacetylation of chitin. Amino groups in the chitosan structure play important role in the coagulant/flocculants process. The aim of research is study coagulation-flocculation process of kaolin suspension using chitosan and its modification as coagulants. The research method is experiment with variable is molecular weight of chitosan. In here, there were two coagulants type, first, single coagulant which chitosan with different molecular weight added alone in kaolin suspension. Second, mix coagulants which chitosan aid with alum in kaolin suspension. As the result, functional group analysis showed that chitosan with different molecular weight have the same functional groups. Increasing molecular weight of chitosan increase free NH 2 groups and degree of deacetylation. The removing turbidity of kaolin suspension showed that increasing molecular weight chitosan increase removing turbidity of kaolin suspension. Compare with single coagulant, the mix coagulants are greater in the removing turbidity.