Abstract:
Fly ash is one of the organic wastes that has the potential as a base material for zeolite
synthesis. Utilization of palm ash as a basic material for making zeolite is very potential
considering its availability is quite large and sustainable. The purpose of this study was to
determine the character of zeolite A as a result of synthesis by using a variation of the
Si/Al ratio and the adsorption test for copper(II) ions. The synthesis of this zeolite uses the
alkaline hydrothermal fusion method, with variations in the Si/Al ratio of 1.25; 1,5 and 2.
Zeolite A synthesized was applied as an adsorbent in adsorbing copper(II) metal ions. The
synthesized zeolite was characterized using FTIR, which showed that the zeolite has the
O-T-O functional group, double ring and T-O asymmetric strain. The synthesized zeolite
was then tested for its adsorption on copper(II) metal ions with time variation and
characterized using AAS. Adsorptivity results show that the efficiency increases with the
length of contact time. The average adsorption efficiency obtained is 86.97%. Based on
these results, it can be concluded that zeolite A synthesized from oil palm shell fly ash has
the potential as an adsorbent in adsorbing copper (II) ions..
