Abstract
The pre-crystallization step (aging) was introduced in the faujasite synthesis process. In this synthesis, the kaolin waste from the Amazon region was used as Al and Si source, since it was composed primarily of kaolinite. The synthesis process followed three steps: 1) thermal treatment of kaolin waste at 700 °C/2 h; 2) pre-crystallization of reaction mixture for 24 h at room temperature; and (3) hydrothermal process at 90 °C for 1 to 10 h. The starting material, pre-crystallized material and synthesized products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analysis. The results confirmed that kaolin waste was composed primarily of kaolinite, the material obtained by pre-crystallization was amorphous, and the zeolite faujasite formation started at 5 h of synthesis. Zeolite faujasite had high structural order from the synthesis time of 8 h, however zeolite P was also formed.
Keywords:
kaolin waste; pre-crystallization; faujasite zeolite
