Rahman, Sharifah Nur Hafiza Syed A
(2006)
A study of the removal of some toxic metals
In tap water by coffee grounds.
Other.
Universiti Sains Malaysia.
(Submitted)
Abstract
This research is a study about the removal of toxic metals such as iron and chromium in
tap water using coffee grounds as filters. Three samples of tap waters from different areas
were collected, one sample from HUSM, one from Nurani Hostel and another one from
D'Village (restaurant outside the campus). The purpose of collecting water samples from
different areas is to determine whether the water from different tap water sources have
different concentration of the metals concerned. Three different types of commercial coffee
brands were selected to constitute different thickness of the coffee bed which were composed
of fine, medium and coarse particles. This is to study the relevance of the coffee texture in the
removal of the metals and the reason for selection of a variety thickness of coffee beds is to
investigate the significance of the coffee bed thickness in the removal of metals. In the
preparation of coffee, equal amounts of different types of coffee grounds were allowed to be
in contact with different type of water, maintaining a constant time in which the coffee is in
contact with water. In the first step, the concentration of the chromium and iron in the three
samples of water was determined using the Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The
concentration of metals in the tap water samples were found to be very low, especially
chromium. Therefore, the water samples had to be acid digested, complexed with a chelating
agent and extracted by methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) to give a higher concentration of the
metals. After the concentration of the metals in water samples were obtained, coffee was
prepared using water from the same samples. As three different types of coffee were used and
along with three different sources of water, a total of nine coffee extracts were prepared. The
coffee extracts were oxidized first to remove the organic matter. Concentration of total iron
was determined by direct AAS while that of chromium was estimated after MIBK treatment.
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