PRECIPITATED CALCIUM CARBONATE (PCC) FROM CORAL REEF AS RAW MATERIAL FOR SYNTHESIS OF HYDROXYAPATITE NANOPARTICLES

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is found in rocks and is a major component of the shells of marine organisms, clamshells, pearls, and eggshells. In nature, CaCO3 can be in three different crystalline structures: aragonite, vaterite and calcite. Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) is a crystal of CaCO3 that has features such as small particle size (micro-scale), homogeneous and high purity. In this research, PCC produced by modification of carbonation method using the raw material of coral reef (Terumbu Karang, TK). The process of PCC formation is done through three stages of the process. The initial stage of coral reefs’s calcination is followed by the process of hydration and final deposition of CaCO3. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis obtained calcite-shaped CaCO3 crystals, which are very similar to the Calcite standard (ICDD 01-078-4614) with the rhombohedral crystal system. The result of SEM-EDX analysis obtained uniform PCC particles with 99% purity. The PCC produced gave excellent results when used as a raw material for hydroxyapatite synthesis. PCC is also able to separate the colors in peat water