Introduction: Domestic wastewater contains phosphates originating from detergents, which are recognized as pollutants of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Excessive phosphate concentrations contribute to eutrophication, impairing ecosystem health. Adsorption using activated carbon has been identified as an effective method for phosphate removal. This study investigated the efficiency of activated carbon derived from Moringa oleifera seeds in removing phosphate from wastewater.
Methods: The study employed a pre- and post-test design with a control group. The carbon was activated using sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and sodium chloride (NaCl) at concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15%, with an activation duration of 24 hours. Phosphate concentrations were quantified at a wavelength of 880 nm using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel, incorporating normality tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: The activated carbon demonstrated phosphate removal efficiencies ranging from 73.55% to 79.21%, with the highest efficiency recorded for the G15 treatment (15% NaCl activation). The NaCl-activated carbon exhibited the greatest adsorption capacity, averaging 9.98 × 10⁻³ mg/g. Normality testing confirmed that the data were normally distributed, while ANOVA revealed that the interaction between activator type and concentration significantly affected the final phosphate concentration (P = 0.001; P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Activation with NaCl enhanced the stability of the carbon structure, likely facilitated by active compounds such as Rhamnosyloxy benzyl isothiocyanate (RBITC) in Moringa seeds. Optimization of activator concentration and field-scale validation are recommended to improve the applicability of Moringa-based activated carbon as a sustainable phosphate adsorbent.