Reactive Adsorption of Parabens on Synthesized Micro- and Mesoporous Silica from Coal Fly Ash: pH Effect on the Modification Process.

Parabens are widely used as preservatives in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products. These compounds are known for their estrogen agonist activity. This research investigates the synthesis of micro- and mesoporous silica from coal fly ash at different pH values (13, 11, 9, and 7) as well as its use as an adsorbent for the removal of parabens. The materials were characterized, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis revealed that the fly ash acid treatment reduced the presence of aluminum, iron, and calcium oxides and also that silica synthesized at lower pH values (7 and 9) showed a higher SiO2 content. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed microporous silica formation for silica synthesized at pH 13 and mesoporous silica at pH 7, 9, and 11. Adsorption tests were performed with materials, and FA-AT7 showed a higher adsorption capacity. The effect of factors (A) adsorbent mass, (B) initial paraben concentration, and (C) agitation rate on the adsorption process was studied for the FA-AT7 adsorbent using a factorial experimental design. Standardized Pareto charts revealed a negative effect of factor A, positive effect of factor B, and negative interaction effects of factors A-B for all studied parabens. Isotherms and multicomponent kinetic studies were performed. A linear type-III isotherm was obtained, and adsorption equilibrium was reached at approximately 10 min.

Comparative adsorption of CO2 by mono-, di-, and triamino-organofunctionalized magnesium phyllosilicates.

Carbon dioxide adsorbents, constituted by organofunctionalized magnesium phyllosilicates, were produced using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (AMPTS), N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]-ethylenediamine (TMSPEDA), N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]-diethylenetriamine (TMSPETA), and tetraethoxyorthosilane (TEOS) as silicon sources with N/Si ratios of 1, 0.75, 0.5, and 0.25, by conventional and microwave heating. Adsorption studies were performed using TGA and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) methods. The results showed that the best temperatures for adsorption were 41, 45, and 90 °C, when magnesium phyllosilicate functionalized with TMSPETA, TMSPEDA, and AMPTS, respectively, were used as adsorbents. Using TPD technique, the maximum efficiency was found to be between 0.285 and 0.899 for 100% AMPTS and 33.33% TMSPETA, obtained by conventional heating. Adsorption efficiency of the materials prepared by conventional method is higher than those obtained using microwave as heating source, except for 100% AMPTS. Desorption kinetics of CO2, described using Avrami's model, show that the CO2 desorption rate constant is in the range from 0.130 to 0.178 min(-1), similar to the values for CO2 desorption from monoetamolamine-functionalized TiO2 and Li4SiO4 but in a narrower range of values.