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Synthesis of Zeolites Na-P1 from South African Coal Fly Ash: Effect of Impeller Design and Agitation.

ABSTRACT: South African fly ash has been shown to be a useful feedstock for the synthesis of some zeolites. The present study focuses on the effect of impeller design and agitation rates on the synthesis of zeolite Na-P1 which are critical to the commercialization of this product. The effects of three impeller designs (4-flat blade, Anchor and Archimedes screw impellers) and three agitation speeds (150, 200 and 300 rpm) were investigated using a modified previously reported synthesis conditions; 48 hours of ageing at 47 °C and static hydrothermal treatment at 140 °C for 48 hours. The experimental results demonstrated that the phase purity of zeolite Na-P1 was strongly affected by the agitation rate and the type of impeller used during the ageing step of the synthesis process. Although zeolite Na-P1 was synthesized with a space time yield (STY) of 15 ± 0.4 kg d-1m-3and a product yield of 0.98±0.05 g zeolites/g fly ash for each impeller at different agitation speeds, zeolite formation was assessed to be fairly unsuccessful in some cases due the occurrence of undissolved mullite and/or the formation of impurities such as hydroxysodalite with the zeolitic product. This study also showed that a high crystalline zeolite Na-P1 can be synthesized from South African coal fly ash using a 4-flat blade impeller at an agitation rate of 200 rpm during the ageing step at 47 °C for 48 hours followed by static hydrothermal treatment at 140 °C for 48 hours.

SUBMITTER: Mainganye D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5452527 | biostudies-other | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Geopolymers are inorganic polymers formed from the alkaline activation of amorphous alumino-silicate materials resulting in a three-dimensional polymeric network. As a class of materials, it is seen to have the potential of replacing ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which for more than a hundred years has been the binder of choice for structural and building applications. Geopolymers have emerged as a sustainable option vis-à-vis OPC for three reasons: (1) their technical properties are comparable if not better; (2) they can be produced from industrial wastes; and (3) within reasonable constraints, their production requires less energy and emits significantly less CO₂. In the Philippines, the use of coal ash, as the alumina- and silica- rich geopolymer precursor, is being considered as one of the options for sustainable management of coal ash generation from coal-fired power plants. However, most geopolymer mixes (and the prevalent blended OPC) use only coal fly ash. The coal bottom ash, having very few applications, remains relegated to dumpsites. Rice hull ash, from biomass-fired plants, is another silica-rich geopolymer precursor material from another significantly produced waste in the country with only minimal utilization. In this study, geopolymer samples were formed from the mixture of coal ash, using both coal fly ash (CFA) and coal bottom ash (CBA), and rice hull ash (RHA). The raw materials used for the geopolymerization process were characterized using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) for elemental and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineralogical composition. The raw materials' thermal stability and loss on ignition (LOI) were determined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and reactivity via dissolution tests and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP) analysis. The mechanical, thermal and microstructural properties of the geopolymers formed were analyzed using compression tests, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Using a Scheffé-based mixture design, targeting applications with low thermal conductivity, light weight and moderate strength and allowing for a maximum of five percent by mass of rice hull ash in consideration of the waste utilization of all three components, it has been determined that an 85-10-5 by weight ratio of CFA-CBA-RHA activated with 80-20 by mass ratio of 12 M NaOH and sodium silicate (55% H₂O, modulus = 3) produced geopolymers with a compressive strength of 18.5 MPa, a volumetric weight of 1660 kg/m³ and a thermal conductivity of 0.457 W/m-°C at 28-day curing when pre-cured at 80 °C for 24 h. For this study, the estimates of embodied energy and CO₂ were all below 1.7 MJ/kg and 0.12 kg CO₂/kg, respectively.

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Synthesis of Zeolites Na-P1 from South African Coal Fly Ash: Effect of Impeller Design and Agitation.

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