Prof. D. N. Singh

BHAGWANJEE JHA

Ph. D.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, India jha66b@yahoo.com

NOVEL TECHNIQUES FOR SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FLYAH ZEOLITES

Over the years, several methods (viz., hydrothermal, fusion prior to hydrothermal, microwave assisted hydrothermal and molten salt techniques) have been developed by researchers for producing fly ash zeolites. However, these methods yield residues, both in the form of solids and filtrates, which are responsible for creation of impure zeolites and disposal of the filtrates becomes a major environmental challenge. Hence, creation of pure zeolites by adopting novel techniques and recycling of the filtrates for activation of the fly ash becomes mandatory. With this in view, attempts have been made in this study to develop two novel techniques (viz., three-step activation by hydrothermal treatment and fusion) that facilitate complete activation (read conversion) of the fly ash into zeolites. Based on extensive physico-chemico-mineralogical and morphological characterization, these techniques have been demonstrated to be quite useful and efficient for producing better quality ash zeolites.