Hierarchization of Zeolites A and X Using Bacterial Cellulose as Macroporous Support

In this work, we studied the formation of hierarchical porous cartridges by means of bacterial cellulose impregnation with the zeolites A and X. Cellulose was successfully produced by Komagataeibacter genus and the zeolites were obtained by hydrothermal route. The composites were formed using both oxidized and non-oxidized cellulose. Different characterization techniques were used to analyze the resulting materials like powder X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic techniques (infrared vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance), electron microscopy, thermal analyses, as well as ionic exchange experiments. The results show that the composites present layers with large voids among them, formed by cellulose nanofibrils tangling the particles in the oxidized samples, and shiftings in the bands referent to the carboxilyc groups and hydrogen bondings. The oxidation step for the cellulose seems to be important for the hierarchization and a positive effect on the cartridges is found for Ca²⁺ ionic exchange tests. Thus, these components can be successfully mixed to form cartridges with potential use at gas and liquid adsorption technologies.

Keywords:
zeolite; bacterial cellulose; hierarchization