Synthesis of NaX Zeolite Using Elephant Grass (Pennisetum purpureum) as a Silica Source and Its Characterization
Soni Setiadji[1,*], Citra Deliana Dewi Sundari[2], Ira Noviyanti[1] and Atthar Luqman Ivansyah[3]
[1]Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Jl. A.H. Nasution No.105 Bandung, West Java, 40614, Indonesia.
[2]Department of Chemistry Education, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Jl. Cimincrang, Cimenerang, Panyileukan, Bandung, West Java, 40292, Indonesia.
[3]Master Program in Computational Science, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Science, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl.Ganesha No. 10, Bandung, West Java, 40132, Indonesia
Abstract
NaX zeolite is a synthetic zeolites with faujasite framework that has large pores, which it is largely used as adsorbents. NaX zeolite was synthesized using silica which was extracted from elephant grass. The silica was isolated from elephant grass using its ash with conventional ignition method, with NaOH as solvent. The extracted silica purity is 86,33%. NaX zeolite was synthesized with 3.5 Na2O : Al2O3 : 2.9 SiO2 : 150 H2O as molar ratio in hydrothermal condition at 90 °C for 15 hours. Synthesized zeolite were then characterized using FT-IR to confirm the formation of zeolite based on chemical bonding that appears on the spectrum, XRD to confirm the framework structure of the formed zeolite, and SEM to obtain its morphology. Based on those analysis, it is known that the result of synthesis process is zeolite with NaX crystal structure and octahedral morphology with crystal sizes range 1-5 µm.
Keywords: silica extraction, elephant grass, zeolite synthesis, NaX zeolite, hydrothermal method
Topic: Material Science