In this study, both zeolites NaA and NaY were synthesized from rice husk ash (RHA) by a simple conventional hydrothermal route. Rice husk (RH) was used as a silicate source to produce various zeolites. The hydrothermal route was conducted via a seeding technique involving the preparation of two separate gels, i.e. colloidal seed and feedstock gel. The zeolite was first produced using commercially available chemicals and followed by the replacement of the commercial silicate sources with RHA derived silicate. The RHA silicate was obtained by combusting the RH at different temperatures and durations i.e. 450°C for both 2 and 6 hours, as well as 750°C for 6 hours. Zeolite NaY (faujasite) was successfully synthesized with commercial chemical seed and RHA derived feedstock gel. On the other hand, using RHA silicate in both colloidal seed and feedstock gel would give only zeolite NaA. Elemental, structural and morphological analyses of RHA and zeolites were carried out with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Keywords Zeolite NaA · Zeolite NaY · Rice husk ash · Silicate sources Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

ABSTRACT:In this article, the methane adsorption behaviour of activated carbon fibre (ACF), a nanoporous material, was examined for adsorbed natural gas (ANG) applications. The ACF was produced from palm fibre-based materials through carbonization, followed by CO 2 activation. The carbonization of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres was conducted at temperatures of 85-250 °C in an oxidative atmosphere. The produced ACF showed well-developed pore structure with high micropore volume and excellent pore-size distribution. The ACF, predominantly with microporous pores, fulfils the requirements as an excellent adsorbent for methane adsorption. The optimal carbonization conditions for improving methane adsorption capacity were achieved using concentrated H 2 SO 4 at 250 °C, followed by activation at 900 °C. Only physisorption occurred during the adsorption of methane on ACF. The EFB fibre-derived ACF has high potential for use in NG adsorption and storage applications via ANG technology.

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