ENIVRONMENT ASIA

Volume 15, No. 03, Month SEPTEMBER, Year 2022, Pages 152 - 161

Comparison of non-acid wash and acid wash preparation methods for zeolite a synthesis from coal fly ash

Sirirat Jangkorn, Pornsawai Praipipat

Abstract Download PDF

Coal fly ash is a byproduct from power plants and causes environmental problems. Zeolite A was synthesized from coal fly ash by using the two-step method. The raw materials obtained without and with acid wash treatment were studied to determine whether acid wash treatment is an important pre-synthesis step to obtain complete zeolite A. The synthesized materials were characterized in terms of crystalline pattern, surface area, chemical composition, chemical functional groups, and cation exchange capacity through XRD, FESEM-FIB, EDX, XRF, FTIR and the cobalt cation exchange process. The results confirmed the preparation of zeolite A from the process with acid wash treatment and strongly indicated the quality of zeolite A with a cation exchange capacity of 2.38 meq/g. In contrast, the material synthesized without wash treatment corresponded to sodalite with a cation exchange capacity of 0.99 meq/g. Therefore, acid wash treatment is an important step before zeolite A synthesis, and the synthesized material has the potential to be utilized as a catalyst, adsorbent, and ion exchanger in the future.

Keywords

Electric power plant waste; Zeolite; Two-step method; Acid treatment; Adsorbent

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