Preparation of C-Zn functionalized MCM-41 from bagasse heavy ash for adsorption of volatile organic compounds

Abstract

Bagasse heavy ash has been considered as a huge and major environmental burden for the biomass power plants to be responsible for controlling and reducing its impacts, besides continuous removal operation. In this work, bagasse heavy ash was used to prepare mesoporous silica MCM-41 via a low–cost, resource–efficient novel synthesis process. Approximately 50 to 60% bagasse heavy ash was utilized up to its silica content via alkaline fusion with sodium carbonate at 850 °C. The obtained sodium silicate was simply separated from contaminants by dissolving in DI water and applied for MCM-41 preparation using cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as a pore template. The bagasse heavy ash-derived MCM-41 was modified by adding zinc and carbon, and systematically examined for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) adsorption, compared to the commercial adsorbent. The results revealed that C-Zn/MCM-41 were 1.17–1.71 times, 1.11–2.71 times, and 1.50–10.29 times better than those of C/MCM-41, Zn/MCM-41, and the commercial adsorbent for formaldehyde, hexane, and toluene adsorptions, respectively. The application of bagasse heavy ash as a raw material for adsorbent production is therefore of great beneficial in the future chemical processes for cleaner production and sustainability.