Preliminary Study on COD Removal on the Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Using Birnessite-Type Manganese Oxide via a Solvent-Free Method

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) has an adverse effect on the environment due to its high toxicity, low pH, and high chemical and biological oxygen demand. The degradation using Fenton processes is considered as an attractive and sustainable way for the treatment of POME. In this study, as-synthesized birnessite-type manganese oxide was used as the Fenton catalyst for the treatment of POME. This oxide is a typical manganese oxide with an octahedral layered structured and was synthesized from the reduction of MnO4 ̅ using simple sugar (glucose) as a reducing agent by a solvent-free method. The characterization of the oxide was carried out using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and Surface Area Analyzer (SAA). The characterization results indicated the birnessite-type manganese oxide with a well-crystalline structure, irregular shapes of morphology, and surface area of 4.180 m/g. The degradation studies revealed that H2O2 concentration plays a key role in the COD removal of the POME. The maximum reduction in COD removal was 62% in 45 minutes of reaction with the catalyst concentration of 400mg/L and 10 ml of H2O2.