Synthesis and characterization of silica from bottom ash of sugar industry

Abstract

Bottom ash of sugar industry is the richest source of silica and a simple method based on alkaline extraction followed by acid precipitation can be used for its extraction. In this study different conditions like alkali concentration, acid concentration and reaction time for Hydrothermal conversion (hydrothermal treatment) to extract maximum silica with highest purity from bottom ash of sugar industry were investigated. The physical and chemical characteristics of the extracted silica were studied using X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform Infra-red spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the obtained product was amorphous silica, while Infrared peaks demonstrated the presence of siloxane and silanol groups. The extracted silica was 96% pure as revealed from Hydro Fluoric acid test and X-ray fluorescence data.