Upcycling oil palm trunk core into cost-effective mechanically pressed, steam-activated bioadsorbent for landfill leachate treatment

Landfill leachate contains high levels of organic pollutants, heavy metals, and microbial contaminants, requiring efficient treatment. This study evaluates mechanically pressed, steam-activated oil palm trunk core activated carbon (pOPTC-AC) as a bioadsorbent for the remediation of pre-treated landfill leachate. Steam activation improved its adsorption properties, increasing surface area (260.5 m2/g), pore volume (0.39 cm3/g), and producing micropores averaging 3.02 nm. Adsorption tests showed 99.99 % microbial removal, 70 % colour reduction, and over 90 % heavy metal removal (Cd: 96.4 %, Cr: 95.5 %, Fe: 97.8 %). pOPTC-AC also neutralized acidic leachate, raising pH from 2.27 to 6.1. Mass balance analysis estimates Malaysia's 21.8 Mt/year raw OPT could yield 0.8 Mt/year of pOPTC-AC, sufficient to treat 133.3 Mm3 of landfill leachate for COD and 20 Mm3 for colour, pH, microbial, and heavy metal removal. At this scale, techno-economic analysis projects a CAPEX of USD 784.9k, OPEX of USD 4.49M, and annual revenue of USD 3.25M. The unit production cost is USD 1.10/kg, well below CAC's USD 1.62/kg. The process achieves an NPV of USD 4.75M, IRR of 77.7 %, ROI of 50.4 %, and USD 608.3k in annual net profit. This study positions pOPTC-AC as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to commercial activated carbon for leachate treatment.

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