Preparation of Aluminosilicate from Waste of Algae Biomass

The waste of algae in the water filtration plants is to be considered waste and thrown away. This study reveals that the waste of algae biomass in the water filtration plant can be converted into a useful product such as aluminosilicate (AS). AS has been used for the preparation of gases separation membranes. In this study, waste of algae biomass was collected from the Arisu Water Filtration Plant in Seoul, South Korea. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) results reveal that the Arisu water filtration algae contains Al = 10.34%, Si = 29.74%, C = 23.00, and oxygen = 29.32% by its nature. According to EDX results, this composition is favorable for converting waste of algae biomass into AS. Therefore, in this article, AS was prepared from waste algae biomass by using a combustion process. Two chemical activation agents, ZnCl₂ and FeCl₃, are used for chemical activation. Chemical activation takes place in the muffle furnace at 550 °C. The properties of the prepared aluminosilicate were analyzed by characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, EDX, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The XRD results of the ZnCl₂ chemical activation process reveal the amorphous structure of the aluminosilicate peak at an angle of 20–35 degrees. TGA analysis is carried out to find out the thermal stability of the prepared AS. Furthermore, FT-IR analysis was analyzed to figure out the attached surface functional groups of the prepared aluminosilicate. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)