Palm oil industry have long been one of the most important economic drivers in the country. However, the abundance of wastes generated such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) have resulted in serious environmental issues that necessitate immediate response. This work investigates the optimization of biosorption of chlorophenols, which are commonly found in POME, using treated OPEFB biosorbent. The surface of biosorbent was modified by physical or chemical treatment. The biosorption capacity for 2,3-dichlorophenol (2,3-DCP) are higher than that of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP). Therefore, 2,3-DCP was further examined in the optimization study by Full 2k factorial design and Central Composite Design (CCD). A full 25-1 factorial design with five factors and two levels was used to screen the significant factors that influenced the biosorption process. These results were applied in the optimization using CCD with three factors (initial 2,3-DCP concentration, pH of solution and OPEFB biosorbent dosage). It is found the optimum conditions for 2,3-DCP biosorption were 200?ppm initial concentration, pH 5 and 0.15?g dosage. The maximum biosorption capacity was 13.65?mg/g. Langmuir biosorption isotherm best described the biosorption of 2,3-DCP onto OPEFB biosorbent at different initial concentrations of 2,3-DCP solution. Pseudo-second order was found to best fit the biosorption system by OPEFB biosorbent. Therefore, it is worth considering the potential use of OPEFB biomass as a biosorbent in the application of the treatment of toxic pollutants.
