DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A COMPOSITE MATERIAL FROM COCONUT SHELL CHAR AND RICE HUSK FOR WATER FILTRATION

The unavailability of drinking water is synonymous with desecrated selling communities. Additionally, the health situation in general is the main and the only reason for those areas that go unnoticed. This type of condition is especially found in the areas close to urban centers where the multiple roads are almost completely covered by the water that is used by the locals and that is contaminated. The main objective of this research is to design and evaluate a low-cost, matching, and coconut shell and rice husk-based water disinfecting filter, which are the most generated agricultural biomass waste material. The area given the raw materials was carbonized, and in the process, phosphoric acid was added and activated along with a binder. They were combined through a joinery method. Coco rice husk composites were made with different mixtures to test their mechanical, physical, and structural properties. They underwent hardness tests where they had a range of 90-98 in the hardness values, fairly stable density, and exhibited no water absorption at all. The Microscopy studies proved that the material had pore structures; however, the FTIR test analysis countered this as the adsorption of silicate surface groups on the material was, for the most part, the cause for the adsorption. The findings from the research indicate that the composite filter has the required strength and the high absorption capacity, so it stands out as the most efficient technology of all the cheap methods for water treatment in rural Nigeria. This problem also falls in line with the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which promote the enhancement of clean water and sanitation accessibility.