Adsorbents Made of Inorganic Industrial Waste

Data demonstrate the possibility of manufacturing adsorbents by using inorganic industrial waste and provide raw material list for this purpose. Inorganic waste coming from water treatment, mining and construction industries, solid fuel combustion products, spent inorganic sorbents, catalysts and chemical absorbers, chemical, metallurgical and metal finishing industries waste are used as raw materials. Adsorbents production methods by using inorganic industrial waste have been analysed, and parameters of porous structure and adsorbents sorption activity in terms of organic compounds and cations of non-ferrous metals resulting from aqueous medium are listed.

Lignosulfonate and silica as precursors of advanced composites

Advanced silica/lignosulfonate composites were obtained using magnesium lignosulfonate and silica precipitated in a polar medium. For comparative purposes analogous synthesis was performed using commercial silica Aerosil®200. Lignosulfonates are waste products of paper industry and their application in new multifunctional materials is of great economic interest. The composites obtained were subjected to thorough characterization by determination of their physicochemical, dispersive-morphological and electrokinetic properties. Their particle size distribution was measured, SEM images were taken, FT-IR analysis and colorimetric study were made, thermal and electrokinetic stabilities and parameters of porous structure were also determined. The results can be of interest in further application studies

Fluoroalkylsilane versus Alkylsilane as Hydrophobic Agents for Silica and Silicates

Hydrophobic powders were obtained via surface modification of silica or magnesium silicate with selected silanes. A modified precipitation method, carried out in an emulsion system, was used for monodisperse silica synthesis, while magnesium silicate was precipitated in a traditional water system. Functionalization of the obtained inorganic supports was performed with selected alkylsilanes: one newly synthesized, 3-(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoropentyloxy)propyltriethoxysilane (OPF), and two commercial, octadecylsilane (ODS) and octyltriethoxysilane C14H32O3Si (OCS), in amounts of 3, 5, or 10 weight parts by mass of SiO2. It was determined how the chemical modification of the silica or magnesium silicate surface affected its physicochemical properties. The dispersive characteristics of both unmodified and functionalized silica-based systems were evaluated. The morphology and microstructure of the samples obtained were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. The parameters of porous structure of the prepared systems were evaluated on the basis of BET equation as well as nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms. Wettability tests as well as elemental analysis of the obtained inorganic oxide hybrids were also performed. In order to verify the effectiveness of silica and magnesium silicate surface functionalization with selected silanes, FTIR spectra were investigated. The resulting experimental data allowed calculation of the degree of coverage of the silica-based systems with modifying agents.