Comparative synthesis of sodium silicate from rice husk and kaolin

Sodium silicate in powdered form was successfully synthesized from both rice husk ash and Kankara kaolinite clay. The impure nature of both monomer and NaOH used does not seems to hinder the depolymerization reaction viz-a-viz product formation. The crystallinity of sodium silicate produced tends to increase with reaction time, temperature, and Na2O/SiO2 ratio. About 93% crystallinity for as synthesized sodium silicate was obtained using Na2O/SiO2 molar ratio of 0.9, reaction time and temperature of 75mins and 100°C, respectively. The starting material and product formed were characterized using XRF, XRD and SEM analysis. The result proved that the sodium silicate produced can serve as an excellent replacement to its commercial counterpartSodium silicate in powdered form was successfully synthesized from both rice husk ash and Kankara kaolinite clay. The impure nature of both monomer and NaOH used does not seems to hinder the depolymerization reaction viz-a-viz product formation. The crystallinity of sodium silicate produced tends to increase with reaction time, temperature, and Na2O/SiO2 ratio. About 93% crystallinity for as synthesized sodium silicate was obtained using Na2O/SiO2 molar ratio of 0.9, reaction time and temperature of 75mins and 100°C, respectively. The starting material and product formed were characterized using XRF, XRD and SEM analysis. The result proved that the sodium silicate produced can serve as an excellent replacement to its commercial counterpart