Physical characteristics and utilization of ZSM-5 prepared from rice husk silica and aluminum hydroxide as catalyst for transesterification of Ricinus communis oil

Abstract

Natural and synthetic zeolites are well-known materials sharing a wide range of applications, such as adsorbents, ion exchange, and catalysts. However, synthetic zeolites are more widely used, due to several limitations of natural zeolites, such as the presence of impurities and diverse compositions. In this study, rice husk silica (97.86% purity) and aluminum hydroxide were utilized for the preparation of ZSM-5, to study the effect of crystallization time on the physical characteristics and catalytic activity in the transesterification of Ricinus communis oil. The raw materials, with molar ratio of SiO2:0.025Al2O3:0.165Na2O:25H2O, were subjected to crystallization at 180 °C for 48, 72, 96, and 120 h, completed by 6 h calcination at 600 °C. The formation of ZSM-5 was demonstrated by FTIR, XRD, and SEM techniques, confirmed that the formation of ZSM-5 had taken place at 48 h crystallization, with no significant change with prolonged time. The PSA indicates the existence of two clusters of particles, and the BET confirmed the existence of the zeolites as porous materials, with the sample prepared with crystallization time of 96 h had the largest surface area and smallest pore diameter. This particular sample exhibited the highest activity, resulting in 96% conversion of Ricinus communis oil.

Study on the Reaction Parameters on Transesterification of Rubber Seed Oil Using MgO/zeolite-A Catalyst

“…In Table 1, it can be seen that in the sample prepared without impregnation, the presence of MgO (0.31 %) was observed. The MgO content of this particular sample is believed to originate from the RHS used as has been reported in our previous study [24]. The data also indicate that the MgO content of the composites increases with increased concentration of magnesium solution up to 0.3 M but decreases with the use of magnesium solution of 0.4 M. Overall, it can be seen that the amounts of Mg in the MgO/zeolite are less than the theoretical amounts produced from magnesium nitrate solutions used, suggesting that not all of the magnesium ions were adsorbed by the zeolite.…”

“…The unreacted methanol was evaporated and biodiesel was analyzed using GC-MS equipped with MS Library System NIST62, and Wiley 7 database for identification of biodiesel components. Conversion of the RSO into FAMEs was calculated using the following equation [24]:…”

“…The first reason is the availability of rice husk in Indonesia as rice growing country where Lampung Province is one of the main producers. In addition, silica content of rice husk rice is considerably high, in the range of 16 -20 % with a purity of 95 -98 % [24]. Rice husk silica is recognized as an amorphous material and soluble in an alkaline solvent, therefore it is suitable as a raw material for the fabrication of synthetic zeolite.…”

Zeolite ZSM‐5 synthesized from natural silica sources and its applications: a critical review

“…ZSM‐5 aggregates were also created using a unique solvent‐free technique and thermal treatment with an autoclave. In addition, using RHA as a biowaste silica source for the green synthesis of ZSM‐5 has been developed 84,87,154,155 and the products have been used in CO 2 adsorption, 87 the removal of a toxic textile dye, 84 and as a catalyst for transesterification of Ricinus communis oil 155 …”

“…ZSM-5 aggregates were also created using a unique solvent-free technique and thermal treatment with an autoclave. In addition, using RHA as a biowaste silica source for the green synthesis of ZSM-5 has been developed 84,87,154,155 and the products have been used in CO 2 adsorption, 87 the removal of a toxic textile dye, 84 and as a catalyst for transesterification of Ricinus communis oil. 155 Other biomass ashes Similar to rice husks, other biowastes with SiO 2 as their predominant component (such as sugar cane bagasse, sugarcane leaf, and corn leaf) are important agricultural wastes that are also widely accessible.…”