Effect of Composite Composition in Nanofiber for Degradation of Humic Acid Solution

Abstract

One of the basic needs for human is clean water. Many lowlands and marshy areas in larger islands in Indonesia such as Sumatra and Kalimantan are the source of peat water. This type of water is harmful for people living in such areas and it cannot be used directly for drinking and living. According to the standard quality of good water, peat water does not meet the requirements as a source of water for daily life. Peat water is acidic, red-brownish coloured, and it contains higher organic matters especially humic acid and its derivatives. Photocatalysis process is one of the promising way to treat solution that contains humic acid. This research aims to pre-eliminary study activity of PVDF-TiO2/ZnO nanofiber for degradation of humic acid solution. Photocatalytic activities were studied inside photoreactor system with artificial UV radiation with 254 nm wavelength. The percentage of degradation after contacting humic acid solution to photocatalyst was determined by measuring humic acid solution before and after degradation by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer with maximum lambda in 219 nm. The rate constants were calculated and the results were 0,03909 min-1 and 0.02832 min-1 respectively for PVDF-4%TiO2/ZnO and PVDF-8%TiO2/ZnOnanofibers and it is in pseudo first order kinetic model.