Preparation of zeolite NaA for CO₂ capture from nickel laterite residue

Abstract

Zeolite NaA was successfully prepared from nickel laterite residue for the first time via a fusion-hydrothermal procedure. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized zeolite NaA were characterized with a range of experimental techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. It was revealed that the structures of the produced zeolites were dependent on the molar ratios of the reactants and hydrothermal reaction conditions, so the synthesis conditions were optimized to obtain pure zeolite NaA. Adsorption of nitrogen and carbon dioxide on the prepared zeolite NaA was also measured and analyzed. The results showed that zeolite NaA could be prepared with reasonable purity, it had physicochemical properties comparable with zeolite NaA made from other methods, and it had excellent gas adsorption properties, thus demonstrating that zeolite NaA could be prepared from nickel laterite residue.

Keywords

zeolites / nickel laterite / residue / synthesis / structural properties / carbon dioxide / adsorption

References

[1] Breck DW. Zeolite Molecular Sieves, 1974, New York, Wiley-Interscience, 397

[2] Kuznicki SM, Bell VA, Nair S, Hillhouse HW, Jacubinas RM, Braunbarth CM, Toby BH, Tsapatsis M. A titanosilicate molecular sieve with adjustable pores for size-selective adsorption of molecules. Nature, 2001, 412, 720.

[3] Kuznicki SM. Preparation of Small-Pored Crystalline Titanium Molecular Sieve Zeolites, 1990

[4] Shang J, Li G, Singh R, Gu QF, Nairn KM, Bastow TJ, Medhekar N, Doherty CM, Hill AJ, Liu JZ, Webley PA. Discriminative separation of gases by a “molecular trapdoor” mechanism in chabazite zeolites. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2012, 134, 19246.

[5] Sapawe N, Jalil AA, Triwahyono S, Shah MIA, Jusoh R, Salleh NFM, Hameed BH, Karim AH. Cost-effective microwave rapid synthesis of zeolite NaA for removal of methylene blue. Chem. Eng. J., 2013, 229, 388.

[6] Majchrzak-Kucęba I, Nowak W. A thermogravimetric study of the adsorption of CO₂ on zeolites synthesized from fly ash. Thermochim. Acta, 2005, 437, 67.

[7] Liu L, Singh R, Xiao P, Webley PA, Zhai Y. Zeolite synthesis from waste fly ash and its application in CO₂ capture from flue gas streams. Adsorption, 2011, 17, 795.

[8] Izidoro JDC, Fungaro DA, Abbott JE, Wang S. Synthesis of zeolites X and A from fly ashes for cadmium and zinc removal from aqueous solutions in single and binary ion systems. Fuel, 2013, 103, 827.

[9] Font O, Moreno N, Díez S, Querol X, López-Soler A, Coca P, Peña FG. Differential behaviour of combustion and gasification fly ash from Puertollano Power Plants (Spain) for the synthesis of zeolites and silica extraction. J. Hazard. Mater., 2009, 166, 94.

[10] Bell RG, Jackson RA, Catlow CRA. Löwenstein’s rule in zeolite A: a computational study. Zeolites, 1992, 12, 870.

[11] Moisés MP, da Silva CTP, Meneguin JG, Girotto EM, Radovanovic E. Synthesis of zeolite NaA from sugarcane bagasse ash. Mater. Lett., 2013, 108, 243.

[12] Prokof’ev VY, Gordina NE, Efremov AM. Synthesis of type A zeolite from mechanoactivated metakaolin mixtures. J. Mater. Sci., 2013, 48, 6276.

[13] Mu WN, Zhai YC, Liu Y. Leaching of magnesium from desiliconization slag of nickel laterite ores by carbonation process. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China, 2010, 20(Suppl.1): s87.

[14] Purnnomo CW, Salim C, Hinode H. Synthesis of pure Na-X and Na-A zeolite from bagasse fly ash. Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 2012, 162, 6.

[15] Siriwardane RV, Shen MS, Fisher EP, Poston JA. Adsorption of CO₂ on molecular sieves and activated carbon. Energy Fuels, 2001, 15, 279.

[16] Machida M, Uto M, Kurogi D, Kijima T. MnO_x-CeO₂ binary oxides for catalytic NO_x sorption at low temperatures: sorptive removal of NO_x. Chem. Mater., 2000, 12(10): 3158.