X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of Silica Extracted from Banana Stems via Acid Leaching Treatment

Abstract

Silica is known as the natural resources where it has the second most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust. In order to help the expanding research more on agricultural waste for silica extraction, banana stems has been used for this experiment studies. The main aim of the study is to know the percentage of silica in banana stems via leaching process. Hydrochloric acid (HCI) and citric acid (C6H8O7) was used as a leaching reagent for removing the inorganic impurities from the banana stems and the effect of leaching time, reagent concentration and the effect of acid on the banana stems are investigated. Both acids results used same concentration of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mol while leaching time were 30, 60 and 90minute respectively. The results of hydrochloric acid (HCI) and citric acid (C6H8O7) leaching treatment test using the Energy Disperse X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) spots shows silica can be produced at 85.5% and 99%, respectively. Lastly, the silica obtained from the experiment was crystalline silica using the analysis of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and the morphological surface of the banana stems were obtained using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).