Abstract—Silica gel was prepared by using alkaline extraction and acid neutralization method from ash obtained wheat straw, an agricultural waste. Microwave digestion, followed by calcination was used for obtaining ash. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies revealed the ash to be mostly amorphous silica. Alkaline-solubilization and acidneutralization method was used to obtain gel from silica obtained from wheat straw. Gel was characterized using FTIR. Nitration reaction of benzaldehyde using the silica gel (as acid catalyst) and copper nitrate was successfully carried out.
Index Terms—Wheat straw, amorphous silica, silica gel, nitration.
The authors are with the Department of Sciences, School of Technology (SOT), Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagr, Gujarat, India (e-mail: info@pdpu.ac.in)
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Cite: Khushbu G. Patel, Nirendra M. Misra, and Rakshith R. Shettigar, "Preparation and Characterization of Silica Gel from Wheat Straw," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 344-347, 2016.
