Carboxymethyl Glucomannan from Amorphophallus oncophyllus as an Alternative Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater: Adsorption of Cadmium and Zinc

Carboxymethyl glucomannan (CMGM) was successfully synthesized through the reaction of glucomannan from Amorphophallus oncophyllus and monochloroacetic acid, using NaOH as a catalyst. Two types of glucomannan were used in this study, low viscosity glucomannan (LGM) and high viscosity glucomannan (HGM). The produced CMGM were differentiated into LCMGM (synthesized from LGM) and HCMGM (synthesized from HGM). The CMGM structure was characterized by FTIR, and the degree of substitution (DS) was determined using back titration method. The DS value were 0.484 and 0.412 for LCMGM and HCMGM, respectively. Both CMGMs were then evaluated for its adsorption capacity towards Zn and Cd at the optimum pH of 6, with 60 minutes adsorption time for each sample. The maximum adsorption capacity of Zn was 13.61 mg/g and 13.04 mg/g for LCMGM and HCMGM, respectively. While for Cd, the maximum adsorption capacity of LCMGM and HCMGM was 17.70 mg/g and 15.90 mg/g. The adsorption capacity of the sample follows the Langmuir isotherm adsorption. In conclusion, CMGM from A. oncophyllus has demonstrated its potential as a reusable adsorbent for efficient removal of Cd and Zn.