Effect of Durian Husk and Palm Fiber on Performance of “Dukoffilt” to Treat Domestic Waste Water 

Nor Ashikin Marzuki, and Nur Hanani Daud 

1. Politeknik Tuanku Sultanah Bahiyah, Malaysia 

2. Politeknik Kota Bharu, Malaysia 

Abstract: Water pollution, air pollution and water pollution issues are debated globally and the problems seems to worsen despite the solutions due to the never-ending reckless human activities. Fresh water, the main source of living, is limited. The contamination of this scarce supply would cause disaster in the future, hence research on improving water quality should be an ongoing effort to sustain its availability. This research is highlighting the potential of DUkofFilt, a water filter prototype that utilizing durian husk and palm fibre as the main substances to filter wastewater from kitchen basin. The objectives of this research are twofold; to determine the potential of durian husk and oil palm fibre to reduce the content of grease and oil in kitchen wastewater as well as developing a water filter prototype to treat the wastewater, so it is safer to be released into environment. Therefore, wastewater from food stall kitchen was taken as samples. First, the percentage of oil and grease were determined by Oil & Grease Test. Then, the samples were flowed through the cleaned and dried fibres and the post-test results were taken. As the potential of durian husk and palm oil fibre were identified, the DUkofFilt filter was developed and tests namely BOD, COD, pH and TSS were conducted to determine the effectiveness of the filter. The results show an encouraging potential as the combination of both fibres and DUkofFilt filter able to reduce 65% and 75% oil and grease in kitchen wastewater respectively. Furthermore, the post-tests of BOD, pH and TSS show that the treated wastewater met the Effluent Standard, required by Environment Quality Act 1974. The importance of this research could be worthwhile because apart from utilizing massive agricultural waste such as durian husk and oil palm fibre to treat domestic wastewater, the prototype filter could help in reducing water contamination caused by incautious food industry. 

Key words: durian husk, palm fibre, domestic waste water