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Chemical Engineering Journal, Volumes 211–212, 15 November 2012, Pages 112-121.
A. Lazaro, H.J.H. Brouwers, G. Quercia, J.W. Geus
Department of the Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands and
Materials innovation institute (M2i), Delft, The Netherlands and
Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract
This study addresses the synthesis of amorphous mesoporous nano-silica by the dissolution of olivine in sulfuric acid, showing the influence of the process conditions on the properties of nano-silica. The olivine dissolution process is a convenient alternative to the traditional methods of nano-silica production; and that is because the low energy requirement makes it possible to use this material in new fields where previously its price was prohibitive. The produced nano-silica has a specific surface area between 100 and 300 m2/g and a particle size between 10 and 25 nm. These particles are agglomerated in clusters forming a mesoporous material with an average pore diameter around 20 nm. The impurity content is below 5%, and the silica yield of the process in the range of 54–83%. When the separation of the silica is carried out by filtration, the textural properties of the material have a direct influence on the separation efficiency. The texture and specific surface area of nano-silica depends on several factors of the process, the main ones being the kinetics of the dissolution of olivine and the washing steps of the nano-silica. Thus, the properties of this nano-silica can be tailored by changing the process conditions.
