17 research outputs found

    Optimization of Silica Extraction from Diatomaceous Earth using the Central Composite Design of Response Surface Methodology

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    This work evaluated the extraction efficiency of silica from diatomaceous earth (DE) by conventional solvent extraction (CSE) and ultrasound-assisted  extraction (UAE) under basic and acidic (HCl) conditions utilizing response surface methodology (RSM). A common statistical model was used to get the  best percentage yield and percentage purity using RSM. Experimental parameters such as stirring time, NaOH concentration (for CSE), sonication time,  NaOH/HCl concentration, cycle and amplitude (for UAE methods) were optimized using central composite design (CCD). The analytical responses, that is,  percentage yield and percentage purity, were analyzed using ANOVA and regression analysis. The linear coefficient of determination, R2 , was high and  precise. The overall yield and purity were highest for the UAE method under acid condition (pH 1–2, approximately), making it the most effective silica  extraction method from DE. For this method, the optimal conditions for extracting Si from DE were 2 h of sonication, 220 mL of 2.82 M HCl as a  leaching/extracting medium, 0.524 cycles and 72.6 % of amplitude. Under these conditions, 82 % of silica was yielded with a purity of about 95 %. The  experimental results indicate that high-quality silica can be produced from DE in high yield so that DE can be an alternative silica source.&nbsp

    Synthesis and characterization of zeolites produced by ultrasonication of coal fly ash/NaOH slurry filtrates

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    Studies were conducted to determine if crystalline zeolites could be obtained from the filtrates of coal fly ash (CFA)/NaOH slurries through sonication. The CFA/NaOH slurries were obtained by aging CFA in 3 M NaOH for 24 h at 50 °C using a solid/liquid (S/L) ratio of 15 g/120 mL. FT-IR studies indicated that the ‘Lo’ regime ultrasonicated zeolite had higher intensities than that of the ‘Hi’ frequency ultrasonicated zeolite. The bands associated with the ‘Lo’ regime ultrasonicated zeolite were observed at 1066cm–1, 1400cm–1 and 3600cm–1, which were identified as Si-Oasymmetric stretch, Al-Oasymmetric stretch, O-Hbend and O-H asymmetric stretch, respectively. Based on PXRD studies, the zeolitic phases were most intense for the 90 min ultrasonicated zeolite. Powder X-ray diffraction studies showed that the phases initially in CFA, such as quartz and aluminosilicate, were converted into gismodine zeolite Na-P1. Morphological changes were seen as ultrasonication period was increased. At short ultrasonication times, irregularly shaped fused-like grain structures were observed, while at longer times separate grain-like structures became more apparent. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy studies on the 90 min ultrasonicated zeolite indicated the presence of Na, O, Si and Al, which were important building-blocks for the zeolites

    Chemical, mineralogical and morphological changes in weathered coal fly ash: A case study of a brine impacted wet ash dump

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    The mobility of species in coal fly ash (FA), co-disposed with brine using a wet ash handling system, from a coal fired power generating utility has been investigated. The study was conducted in order to establish if the wet ash dump could act as a salt sink. The ash was dumped as a slurry with 5:1 brine/ash ratio and the dam was in operation for 20 years. Weathered FA samples were collected along three cores at a South African power station’s wet ash dump by drilling and sampling the ash at 1.5 m depth intervals. A fresh FA sample was collected from the hoppers in the ash collection system at the power station. Characterization of both fresh FA and weathered FA obtained from the drilled cores S1, S2 and S3 was done using X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineralogy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for chemical composition and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology. Analysis of extracted pore water and moisture content determination of the fresh FA and the weathered FA obtained from the drilled cores S1, S2 and S3 was done in order to evaluate the physico-chemical properties of the FA. The XRD analysis revealed changes in mineralogy along cores S1, S2 and S3 in comparison with the fresh FA. The SEM analysis revealed spherical particles with smooth outer surfaces for the fresh FA while the weathered ash samples obtained from cores S1, S2 and S3 consisted of agglomerated, irregular particles appearing to be encrusted, etched and corroded showing that weathering and leaching had occurred in the ash dump. The moisture content (MC) analysis carried out on the fresh FA (1.8%) and the weathered FA obtained from the drilled cores S1 (41.4-73.2%), S2 (30.3-94%) and S3 (21.7-76.2%)indicated that the ash dump was water logged hence creating favourable conditions for leaching of species. The fresh fly ash (n = 3) had a pH of 12.38 ± 0.15, EC value of 4.98 ± 0.03 mS/cm and TDS value of 2.68 ± 0.03 g/L, the pH of the drilled core S1 (n = 45) was 10.04 ± 0.50, the EC value was 1.08 ± 0.14 mS/cm and the TDS value was 0.64 ± 0.08 g/L. Core S2 (n = 105) had pH of 10.04 ± 0.23; EC was 1.08 ± 0.06 mS/cm and TDS was 0.64 ± 0.04 g/L, while core S3 (n = 66) had pH of 11.04 ± 0.09; EC was 0.99 ± 0.03 mS/cm and TDS was 0.57 ± 0.01 g/L. The changes in pH values can be attributed to the dissolution and flushing out of alkaline oxides like CaO and MgO from the dumped ash. The variations in pH values shows that the fly ash is acidifying over time and metal mobility can be expected under these conditions. The large decrease of EC in the drilled ash cores S1, S2 and S3 compared to the fresh ash indicated a major loss of ionic species over time in the ash dump. The XRF analysis showed the progressive dissolution of the major alumi-nosilicate ash matrix which influenced the release of minor and trace elements into the pore water enhancing their mobility as the ash dam acidified over time. Brine co-disposal on the ash may have been responsible for the slight enrichment of some species such as Na (0.27-0.56%), SO4 (0.06-0.08%), Mg (0.57-0.96 %) and K (0.02-0.34%) in the disposed weathered FA. However, there was no significant accumulation of these species in the disposed FA despite continuous addition of large volumes of highly saline brine over the 20 year period that the dump existed, indicating that the ash dam was incapable of holding salts and continually released elements to the environment over the lifetime of the dam.Web of Scienc

    Comparison of CO2 capture by ex-situ accelerated carbonation and in in-situ naturally weathered coal fly ash

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    Natural weathering at coal power plants ash dams occurs via processes such as carbonation, dissolution, co-precipitation and fluid transport mechanisms which are responsible for the long-term chemical, physical and geochemical changes in the ash. Very little information is available on the natural carbon capture potential of wet or dry ash dams. This study investigated the extent of carbon capture in a wet-dumped ash dam and the mineralogical changes promoting CO2 capture, comparing this natural phenomenon with accelerated ex-situ mineral carbonation of fresh fly ash (FA). Significant levels of trace elements of Sr, Ba and Zr were present in both fresh and weathered ash. However Nb, Y, Sr, Th and Ba were found to be enriched in weathered ash compared to fresh ash. Mineralogically, fresh ash is made up of quartz, mullite, hematite, magnetite and lime while weathered and carbonated ashes contained additional phases such as calcite and aragonite. Up to 6.5 wt % CO2 was captured by the fresh FA with a 60% conversion of calcium to CaCO3 via accelerated carbonation (carried out at 2 h, 4Mpa, 90 o C, bulk ash and a S/L ratio of 1). On the other hand 6.8 wt % CO2 was found to have been captured by natural carbonation over a period of 20 years of wet disposed ash. Thus natural carbonation in the ash dumps is significant and may be effective in capturing CO2.Web of Scienc

    Environmental evaluation and nano-mineralogical study of fresh and unsaturated weathered coal fly ashes

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    Coal combustion and the disposal of combustion wastes emit enormous quantities of nano-sized particles that pose significant health concerns on exposure, particularly in unindustrialized countries. Samples of fresh and weathered class F fly ash were analysed through various techniques including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman Spectroscopy. The imaging techniques showed that the fresh and weathered coal fly ash nanoparticles (CFA-NPs) are mostly spherical shaped. The crystalline phases detected were quartz, mullite, ettringite, calcite, maghemite, hematite, gypsum, magnetite, clay residues, and sulphides. The most abundant crystalline phases were quartz mixed with Al-Fe-Si-K-Ti-O-amorphous phases whereas mullite was detected in several amorphous phases of Al, Fe, Ca, Si, O, K, Mg, Mn, and P. The analyses revealed that CFANPs are 5–500 nm in diameter and encapsulate several potentially hazardous elements (PHEs). The carbon species were detected as 5–50 nm carbon nanoballs of graphitic layers and massive fullerenes. Lastly, the aspects of health risks related to exposure to some detected ambient nanoparticles are also discussed

    Defluoridation of groundwater using diatomaceous earth : optimization of adsorption conditions, kinetics and leached metals risk assessment

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    The original article can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2015.1083894In Sub-Saharan Africa, many rural communities depend on boreholes as the most appropriate source of water supply. Sadly, water from some of the boreholes contains fluoride above the WHO guideline of 1.5 mg/L. Hence, defluoridation is necessary. The aim of this study is to investigate the fluoride uptake capacity of diatomaceous earth (DE), a natural resource at optimized conditions by batch method. X-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the major component is silica (83.1%), while Al2O3 is the main minor component. XRD shows it is an amorphous material. For 8 mg/L fluoride spiked water, the highest per cent fluoride removal at optimum adsorption conditions (contact time: 30 min, adsorbent dosage: 8 g/L, pH 2, temperature: 298 K and shaking speed: 200 rpm) was between 23.4 and 25.6%. PO3 4 in tested field water was observed to reduce the fluoride uptake capacity of fluoride. The sorption data fitted better into Freundlich isotherm than Langmuir isotherm. Fluoride sorption process was found to be a second-order kinetic. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer analysis of treated water revealed that metal and non-metal species were released at trace levels. Modification of DE would be necessary to enhance the fluoride adsorption capacit

    Synthesis and performance evaluation of AI/Fe oxide coated diatomaceous in groundwater defluoridation : towards fluoris mitigation

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    To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2016.1181445The quest to reduce fluoride in groundwater to WHO acceptable limit of 1.5 mg/L to prevent diseases such as teeth mottling and skeletal fluorosis was the motivation for this study. Al/Fe oxide-modified diatomaceous earth was prepared and its defluoridation potential evaluated by batch method. The sorbent with pHpzc 6.0 § 0.2 is very reactive. The maximum 82.3% fluoride removal attained in 50 min using a dosage of 0.3 g/100 mL in 10 mg/L fluoride was almost attained within 5 min contact time; 81.3% being the percent fluoride removal at 5 min contact time. The sorbent has a usage advantage of not requiring solution pH adjustment before it can exhibit its fluoride removal potential. A substantial amount of fluoride (93.1%) was removed from solution when a sorbent dosage of 0.6 g/100 mL was contacted with 10 mg/L fluoride solution for 50 min at a mixing rate of 200 rpm. The optimum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was 7.633 mg/g using a solution containing initially 100 mg/L fluoride. The equilibrium pH of the suspensions ranged between 6.77 and 8.26 for 10 and 100 mg/L fluoride solutions respectively. Contacting the sorbent at a dosage of 0.6 g/100 mL with field water containing 5.53 mg/L at 200 rpm for 50 min reduced the fluoride content to 0.928 mg/L—a value below the upper limit of WHO guideline of 1.5 mg/L fluoride in drinking water. The sorption data fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms but better with the former. The sorption data obeyed only the pseudo-second-order kinetic, which implies that fluoride was chemisorbe

    Synthesis, characterization, and potential application of Mn2+-intercalated bentonite in fluoride removal: adsorption modeling and mechanism evaluation

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    Abstract The study synthesizes a low-cost adsorbent made from Mn2+-modified bentonite clay for groundwater defluoridation. The clays were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared techniques. The fluoride adsorption capacity of the modified clay was evaluated using batch experiments. The adsorption kinetics results showed that the optimum fluoride (F−) uptake was achieved within the 30 min’ contact time. The data fitted well to pseudo-second-order of reaction kinetics indicating that adsorption of F− occurred via chemisorption. In addition, the adsorption isotherm data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model indicating that adsorption occurred on a mono-layered surface. Maximum F− removal of 57% was achieved from groundwater with an initial F− concentration of 5.4 mg L−1 and natural pH of 8.6 using adsorbent dosage of 1 g/100 mL. Fluoride adsorption occurred through ligands and ion exchange mechanisms. The synthesized adsorbent was successfully regenerated for up to five times. The study shows that Mn2+-intercalated bentonite clay has potential for application in defluoridation of groundwater

    Synthesis of zeolite-P from coal fly ash derivative and its utilisation in mine-water remediation

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    Solid residues resulting from the active treatment of acid mine drainage with coal fly ash were successfully converted to zeolite-P under mild hydrothermal treatment conditions. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the zeolite-P product was highly crystalline. The product had a high cation exchange capacity (178.7 meq / 100 g) and surface area (69.1 m2/g) and has potential application in waste-water treatment. A mineralogical analysis of the final product identified zeolite-P, as well as mullite and quartz phases, which indicated incomplete dissolution of the fly ash feedstock during the ageing step. Further optimisation of the synthesis conditions would be required to attain complete utilisation of the feedstock. The zeolite-P was tested for decontamination potential of circumneutral mine water. High removal efficiency was observed in the first treatment, but varied for different contaminants. The synthesised zeolite-P exhibited a high efficiency for the removal of heavy metal cations, such as aluminium, iron, manganese, zinc, copper and nickel, from contaminated mine water, even with repeated use. For potassium, calcium, strontium and barium, the removal was only efficient in the first treatment and decreased rapidly with subsequent treatments, indicating preferential adsorption of the other metals. A continuous release of sodium was observed during decontamination experiments, which decreased with subsequent treatments, confirming that sodium was the main exchangeable charge-balancing cation present in the zeolite-P product
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