Abstract

Water is essential for the survival of mankind and is paramount to health and well-being. Aside from being an important aspect of man's survival, it brings about a variety of benefits, including oxygen transport and healthy skin. But not all people have access to clean, safe drinking water. Various organizations and people have done steps to change such a situation, but despite these efforts, a lot of people in the Philippines still do not have access to potable water. Various studies have been conducted to make a variety of water filters. One of such studies is the use of banana peels. This study will focus on the use of banana peels as a metal-contaminated water filter so that even far flung areas in the country may also have a water filter using the banana peels which are common to the country.
The study will focus on Barangay Pulungbulu, Angeles City, Pampanga as some people there still use tap water for drinking and general purposes. Such a method may pose health risks to the residents. To find a solution to the problem, the researchers will determine if banana (Musa acuminata) peels can lower the amount or totally remove the contaminants present in tap water. Banana peels are cheaper alternatives to proper filtration systems due to their wide availability and the easier method of growing them. The objectives of the research are to determine if Musa Acuminata peels could completely remove or lower the amount of the metal contaminating the water and to find out if the filtration methods shared by similar studies are effective in filtering the metals contaminating the water.
The study will merely focus on the use of banana peels as water filters. The researchers will utilize tap water, as it is still in its raw form and is prone to contamination. The water will be sent to a laboratory for further testing of iron content. This is so as the Angeles City Water District has also encountered iron as the metal contaminating water in some areas in Angeles City. From the results of this study, one can be aware of the effectiveness of using banana peels as a means of filtering metal particles in water.
The current study is a quantitative research design. It will use the experimental research design. In the study, sample water will be collected from Barangay Pulungbulu, Angeles City, Pampanga. The researchers collected the banana (Musa Acuminata) peels from sellers. They were laid out in the sun for ten hours, to ensure that they will dry thoroughly. The researchers sliced the peels into small chunks/pieces, about less than an inch per piece, after they have dried. After all the peels were chopped to small pieces, the researchers put them on top of a clean and durable paper towel. The paper towel filled with banana chunks was positioned over a container. Contaminated water acquired from Barangay Pulungbulu was slowly poured through the filter. It is to be expected that clean, filtered water should accumulate at the container underneath the filter. After the water has been accumulated, two samples will be sent to a laboratory: one sample will be the untreated water and the other will be the filtered water. The samples will be sent to a laboratory in order to determine if the filtered water has been filtered efficiently. Then, the filtered water will be compared to the other sample of the water taken from the same area.
From the results in the laboratory, it had been determined that the banana peels greatly reduced the iron (Fe) content in the water. From the 0.355 mg/L iron content, it became only 0.045 mg/L. This is in relation to the results of other studies, such as those conducted by Castro et al. (2011) and Verma (2017).
From the study, the researchers could conclude that banana peels are effective in lessening the metal content of the water sampled from Barangay Pulungbulu, Angeles City, Pampanga. The researchers recommend using cheesecloth a filtration material. In the case of this study, paper towels were used since they are accessible and cheaper than cheesecloths.