استخلاص جسيمات السيليكا النانوية من المخلفات الزراعية لقوالح الذرة الصفراء

Abstract

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In this study, we worked on utilizing the yellow corn crop residues to extract silica nanoparticles, considering that these crops are promising sources of bio-silica, due to the low cost of extraction compared to other sources such as sand and others, on the one hand, and the importance of the silica extracted from them and its multiple uses of important value, on the other hand.

 The extraction process was carried out after obtaining raw yellow corn cobs, washing them thoroughly, drying them, and burning them until ash formed. The resulting ash was then treated with acid to remove impurities and improve the purity of the resulting silica. The sample was then treated with a sodium hydroxide solution to obtain sodium silicate. The pH of the solution was adjusted after filtration to  (pH = 7). The mixture was then left to cool to form silica gel. Finally, the resulting gel was precipitated, collected, and dried to obtain white silica nanoparticles with multiple important uses. The effect of several factors on the extraction process was studied, with the resulting gel being affected by the concentration of sodium hydroxide, the extraction time, the concentration of sulfuric acid used, and the speed of its addition. Optimal conditions were established under which the maximum amount of silica was extracted. The yield of silica extracted from corn cob ash was calculated and the highest yield we obtained was (47.66%). Then, the resulting nano-silica was characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS).