This research was carried out to study the heavy metals removal like arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and mercury (Hg) from Perna viridis. The trisodium citrate with Ru/Mn (25:75)-Al2O3 catalyst were used for the treatment medium with optimum treatment conditions at 500 μg/g of dosage, at temperature of 35°C ± 1°C, at pH 7, for 5 hours of duration and in the presence of compressed air (flow rate 895.50 mL/min). The introduction of Ru/Mn (25:75)-Al2O3 catalyst at 100°C calcination temperature on the trisodium citrate medium indicates the reduction of heavy metals which achieved the permissible limit by Malaysian Food Regulations (1985) and Commission Regulation of EU (2006). The original concentrations of As: 1.65 ± 0.89 μg/g, Hg: 12.42 ± 0.53 μg/g, Pb: 6.25 ± 0.69 μg/g, Cd: 1.27 ± 0.25 μg/g and Ni: 2.00 ± 1.05 μg/g were reduced to As: 0.75 ± 0.04 μg/g (54.34%), Hg: 0.4 ± 0.02 μg/g (96.79%), Pb: 1.07 ± 0.02 μg/g (82.89%), Cd: 0.32 ± 0.10 μg/g (75.02%) and Ni: 0.76 ± 0.01 μg/g (61.83%). ICP-MS and MHS-AAS techniques were used for the metals analysis and the catalyst was characterized through X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) and Nitrogen Absorption (NA).
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