Synthesis of mesoporous silica materials from municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash
Highlights: • The optimal alkaline agent for the extraction of silica from bottom ash was Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3}. • The pore sizes for the mesoporous silica synthesized from bottom ash were 2–3.8 nm. • The synthesized materials exhibited a hexagonal pore structure with a smaller order. • The materials have potential for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. - Abstract: Incinerator bottom ash contains a large amount of silica and can hence be used as a silica source for the synthesis of mesoporous silica materials. In this study, the conditions for alkaline fusion to extract silica from incinerator bottom ash were investigated, and the resulting supernatant solution was used as the silica source for synthesizing mesoporous silica materials. The physical and chemical characteristics of the mesoporous silica materials were analyzed using BET, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and solid-state NMR. The results indicated that the BET surface area and pore size distribution of the synthesized silica materials were 992 m{sup 2}/g and 2–3.8 nm, respectively. The XRD patterns showed that the synthesized materials exhibited a hexagonal pore structure with a smaller order. The NMR spectra of the synthesized materials exhibited three peaks, corresponding to Q{sup 2} [Si(OSi){sub 2}(OH){sub 2}], Q{sup 3} [Si(OSi){sub 3}(OH)], and Q{sup 4} [Si(OSi){sub 4}]. The FTIR spectra confirmed the existence of a surface hydroxyl group and the occurrence of symmetric Si–O stretching. Thus, mesoporous silica was successfully synthesized from incinerator bottom ash. Finally, the effectiveness of the synthesized silica in removing heavy metals (Pb{sup 2+}, Cu{sup 2+}, Cd{sup 2+}, and Cr{sup 2+}) from aqueous solutions was also determined. The results showed that the silica materials synthesized from incinerator bottom ash have potential for use as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions.
- OSTI ID:
- 22320379
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 34, Issue 5; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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