PRESENCE OF SILICA AND ITS CHALLENGES IN THE UTILIZATION OF AGRO-WASTE IN PAPERMAKING AND ADVANCED DESILICATION TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Agricultural wastes have the potential to be used as raw materials for papermaking, keeping in mind the various advantages and the concept of sustainability. One of the major problems in the effective utilization of agro-based residues is the presence of high amount of silica, which is detrimental to the paper industry. Silica, on the other hand, can be used in many industries such as the commercialization of silica has the potential to be utilized as construction materials and silica gel that aids to absorb moisture. Hence, there is a need for novel, innovative and industrially suitable alternative desilcation techniques to overcome certain drawbacks of the conventional methods. The main objective of this research work is to adsorb and extract silica during Soda-AQ pulping using pumice stones by varying the NaOH concentration from 10 % - 14 % with 0.01 wt % Anthraquinone (AQ). Characterization of the silica obtained from wheat and rice straw pulp was performed by using Fourier Transforms Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and the characterization of pumice stones was performed by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX).