Utilizing Silica from Rice Hull for the Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zeolite Y

Rice hull, a known agricultural waste product, with 21% silica (SiO2) content based on elemental analysis, is a promising starting material for zeolite Y synthesis. In this work, silica derived from rice hull samples were extracted via alkaline treatment using 4M NaOH at 130 °C - 150 °C. Further introduction of NaOH and inclusion of aluminium hydroxide were done before subjecting the materials to subsequent ageing and heating at 95 °C to form the zeolite Y crystals. The samples were then analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Zeolite Y from commercial silica was also synthesized as negative control and together with commercially available zeolite Y, FT-IR and XRD results showed that they possess similar structures with the rice-hull derived material.