Preparation and characterization of mesoporous zeolite from solid waste

In this study, experimental results on mesoporous zeolite preparation from a common solid waste, the rice husk ash by a top-down and bottom-up approach were reported. In top-down method, the consecutive treatments of zeolite by acid and alkaline in the presence of a cationic surfactant (CTAB) successfully generated mesopores in the zeolite. In bottom-up method, the sufficient added amount of CTAB in the gel composition could form mesopores in the zeolite. The obtained mesoporous zeolite possessed mesopore with a size of around 3-6 nm in both top-down and bottom-up approaches. As a result, the pore volume of the mesoporous zeolite was significantly increased by more than 60% when comparing to the “parent” rice-husk-ash derived zeolite. Significantly, the mesopore surface area of the mesoporous zeolite could be 2.4 times higher than that of the parent zeolite.