Scholarlink

<p>Nano-silica occupies a prominent position in various fields of science and technology due to its unique properties. Searching for low-cost sources, as well as approaches capable of producing this material with high purity, is an area of fascinating research. In this work, nano-silica powder was recovered from the sodium silicate solution generated as a waste by-product during the conversion of Egyptian zircon sand to zirconia via alkali fusion. Zircon was first fused with NaOH, followed by water leaching and filtration to separate the insoluble zirconium-rich phases. The resulting sodium silicate solution was subsequently subjected to acid precipitation and several purification steps to obtain nano-silica powder. To improve the purity and overall quality of the recovered silica, a novel modification to the processing route was introduced by adding methanol to the leached sodium silicate solution prior to the acidification step. The presence of methanol enhanced the coagulation of dissolved and colloidal impurities, thereby facilitating their efficient removal and resulting in a higher-purity silica product. The synthesized material was characterized by XRF, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET analyses. The results confirmed that this modified procedure led to the production of highly pure nano-silica (99.76%) with an average particle size of approximately 150&#xa0;nm. The obtained powder was fluffy, exhibited a low bulk density (0.277&#xa0;g/cm³), and was largely free of agglomerates. In contrast, the powder produced without methanol addition showed lower purity (97.35%), higher bulk density (0.438&#xa0;g/cm³), and consisted mainly of aggregates with varying micrometer-scale sizes. In conclusion, this cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach demonstrates strong potential for producing high-quality nano-silica suitable for diverse industrial applications.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Synthesis of Nano-Silica as a By-Product from Egyptian Zircon Sand: Effect of Methanol Addition

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月23日

查看全文
  • Ola. Makld,
  • Kolthoum I. Othman,
  • A. Hassan,
  • Mahmoud A. Mosleh,
  • M. M.H. Arief,
  • I. S. Ahmed,
  • M. El-Sayed Ali,
  • S. El-Houte

摘要

Nano-silica occupies a prominent position in various fields of science and technology due to its unique properties. Searching for low-cost sources, as well as approaches capable of producing this material with high purity, is an area of fascinating research. In this work, nano-silica powder was recovered from the sodium silicate solution generated as a waste by-product during the conversion of Egyptian zircon sand to zirconia via alkali fusion. Zircon was first fused with NaOH, followed by water leaching and filtration to separate the insoluble zirconium-rich phases. The resulting sodium silicate solution was subsequently subjected to acid precipitation and several purification steps to obtain nano-silica powder. To improve the purity and overall quality of the recovered silica, a novel modification to the processing route was introduced by adding methanol to the leached sodium silicate solution prior to the acidification step. The presence of methanol enhanced the coagulation of dissolved and colloidal impurities, thereby facilitating their efficient removal and resulting in a higher-purity silica product. The synthesized material was characterized by XRF, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET analyses. The results confirmed that this modified procedure led to the production of highly pure nano-silica (99.76%) with an average particle size of approximately 150 nm. The obtained powder was fluffy, exhibited a low bulk density (0.277 g/cm³), and was largely free of agglomerates. In contrast, the powder produced without methanol addition showed lower purity (97.35%), higher bulk density (0.438 g/cm³), and consisted mainly of aggregates with varying micrometer-scale sizes. In conclusion, this cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach demonstrates strong potential for producing high-quality nano-silica suitable for diverse industrial applications.

Graphical abstract