Extraction of Biopolymer and Its Application in Agriculture Wastewater

Agriculture sector plays a dominant position in Malaysia as to cater for food demand
with increasing population. However, expansion in agricultural anthropogenic
processes has resulted in more challenging wastewater treatment due to the increased
level of contaminants. This project aims to study the biopolymer extracted from
Lepidium Sativum seeds as natural coagulant aid combined with ferric (Fe3+) as a
coagulant in coagulation process for turbidity removal to be applied in agriculture
wastewater. Characterizations of biopolymer were conducted using Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential and Field Emission Scanning Electron
Microscopy (FE-SEM). From the FTIR spectra, the biopolymer was assigned by band
peaks at 3417.04 cm-1
, 2853.92 cm-1
, 2925.09 cm-1
, 3008.4 cm-1
, 1745.92 cm-1
and
1149.74 cm-1
. The zeta potential of biopolymer was around -16 mV, describing its
anionic nature. The morphologies study depicted that the addition of biopolymer
produced a more compact and larger structure of the settled sludge.