High adsorption capacity of ammonia nitrogen on hexagonal porous aluminosilicate derived from solid-waste bagasse bottom ash

Supisara Lertthanu; Metta Chareonpanich; Waleeporn Donphai

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116957

High adsorption capacity of ammonia nitrogen on hexagonal porous aluminosilicate derived from solid-waste bagasse bottom ash

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 15;237(Pt 1):116957. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116957. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Authors

Supisara Lertthanu¹, Metta Chareonpanich², Waleeporn Donphai³

Affiliations

¹ KU-Green Catalysts Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; Research Network of NANOTEC-KU on NanoCatalysts and NanoMaterials for Sustainable Energy and Environment, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand.
² KU-Green Catalysts Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; Research Network of NANOTEC-KU on NanoCatalysts and NanoMaterials for Sustainable Energy and Environment, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; Center for Advanced Studies in Nanotechnology for Chemical, Food and Agricultural Industries, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand.
³ KU-Green Catalysts Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; Research Network of NANOTEC-KU on NanoCatalysts and NanoMaterials for Sustainable Energy and Environment, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; Center for Advanced Studies in Nanotechnology for Chemical, Food and Agricultural Industries, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand. Electronic address: fengwod@ku.ac.th.

PMID: 37634694
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116957

Abstract

This study investigates the use of a hexagonal-porous aluminosilicate (HAS) adsorbent derived from bagasse bottom ash (BBA), an agricultural solid waste, for the adsorption of ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N)-a key water pollutant from agricultural and farming activities. Sodium silicate derived from BBA via the alkaline fusion method was employed, resulting in energy savings due to a synthesis temperature 1.53 times lower than that of commercial sodium silicate synthesis. The sol-gel method was utilized to successfully synthesize HAS featuring a high surface area and porosity using the sodium silicate prepared from BBA. However, an increase in aluminum content resulted in a decrease in surface area and hexagonal porosity. In performance tests, the HAS(5) adsorbent exhibited the most efficient NH₃-N removal, outperforming other adsorbents by 4.54-25.19 times across all initial concentrations. This enhanced efficiency can be attributed to its numerous acidic surface sites, enabling the bonding of NH₃-N molecules through monolayer adsorption on the HAS surface.

Keywords: Adsorption; Aluminosilicate; Ammonia in water removal; Bagasse ash; Hexagonal porous material.