Abstract—With the growing awareness on the environmental impact of coal-burning, conventional Pulverized Coal-fired (PC) boilers are increasingly being replaced with Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers. This shift in technology however, has brought about a new environmental impact – its generation of tons of fly ash that has yet to find utilization. About 7.2 metric tons per year of fly ash is expected to be generated upon completion of the CFB boilers being installed in the country. CFB fly ash, unlike PC fly ash, cannot be directly utilized by the cement and petroleum refining industries due to its unsuitable chemical and physical properties. In order to put value to CFB fly ash, the researchers transformed CFB fly ash into zeolitic materials through fusion with NaOH at elevated temperatures. The synthesized zeolites underwent confirmatory tests such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). IR spectra pattern comparison of commercial and synthesized product showed successful transformation of fly ash into element components that are precursors to zeolites. XRD and SEM analysis showed the transformation of fly ash into an amorphous phase material. Its liquid carrying capacity was determined as a measure of zeolite performance as laundry detergent surfactant carrier.
Index Terms—CFB fly ash, zeolitic material, liquid-carrying capacity.
R. L. de Leon is with University of the Philippines, Philippines (e-mail: rizalinda.deleon@coe.upd.edu.ph).
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Cite: Jay V. Ranoco, JC Justine G. Quintos, and Rizalinda L. de Leon, "Synthesis, Characterization and Liquid-Carrying Capacity of Zeolitic Material from Circulating Fluidized Bed Fly Ash," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 417-421, 2016.
