Brown Algae Alginate Hydrogel (Hormophysa sp) as Phytoremediation Agent for

Textile Industrial Waste

ABSTRACT

The progress of the industry in the era of globalization that is all-powerful has a
negative impact on the environment. An example is an industry that disposes of waste
containing heavy metals without going through filter first because it does not have a good waste
filter tool. The heavy metal waste filtration equipment that is already available is quite
expensive, a large size, and a long installation time. As a solution to deal with this, namely
phytoremediation process. Brown algae is one of the phytoremediation agents because it
contains alginate compounds. Alginate contained in brown Algae (Hormophysa sp) is able to
absorb Cu heavy metals with the help of guluronic acid (Manuronate) contained in it, hydrogel
has a role as an absorber in extracting brown algae alginate. Heavy metal liquid waste from the
textile industry is filtered with a filter containing alginate hydrogels, activated charcoal, coral
and fiber measuring 30cm x 10cm x 50cm. The filtered waste was added HNO3 (nitric acid) to
test the Cu content in the waste solution, pH measurements were carried out, and applied to
living things to see the effectiveness of the alginate hydrogel filter results. The first stage test
results, namely alginate hydrogel can be a phytoremediation agent because it can reduce Cu
metal content in waste. The second stage of the test results is the amount of Cu content in the
waste decreases after filtering. The third stage of the test results, the pH of the filtration waste
decreased from 11 to 8. The results of the fourth phase is Daphnia sp can survive for more than
9 hours in the filtration waste. Making waste filters by utilizing alginate in brown algae and
hydrogels can increase the use value of brown algae and hydrogels. In addition, filter waste by
hydrogels alginate can be an innovation in environmentally friendly waste filter tools at
affordable prices for communities and small industries.

Keywords: Alginate Hydrogel, Brown Algae (Hormophysa sp), Waste Filter, Daphnia sp