Porous Aerogel Structures as Promising Materials for Photocatalysis, Thermal Insulation Textiles, and Technical Applications: A Review
Kang Hoon Lee,
Zafar Arshad,
Alla Dahshan
et al.
Abstract:Aerogels, due to their unique features like lightweight, ultra-low thermal conductivity, and design variations, have gotten a lot of interest in thermal insulation, photocatalysis, and protective areas. Besides their superior thermal properties, aerogel thermal insulation and photocatalyst materials also possess many inherent flaws, such as handling issues, high manufacturing costs, and low strength as well as toughness. The most persuasive and successful ways to improve photocatalytic and thermal insulating q… Show more
Involving a succession of oil refining stages for edible oil production, a notable constraint lies in the necessity to employ diverse adsorbents at various steps within these processes. This study investigates the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels from rice husk ash, comparing their efficacy in physical sunflower oil refining with earth clay (Bentonite) and commercial silica (Trisyl). Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) impact during aging was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and N2 adsorption-desorption analyzer to examine alterations in the structure of silica aerogels. The surface areas of TEOS-doped silica aerogel (TSA) and non-TEOS-doped silica aerogel (NTSA) were 296.18 and 267.06 m²/g. Mesoporous silica aerogels were evaluated for their ability to reduce free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), phosphorus, and color pigments in sunflower oil. TSA and NTSA demonstrated significant FFA removal, with TSA at 3 wt.% achieving the highest performance of 32.2%. TSA also effectively reduced PV and phosphorus compared to NTSA, Bentonite and Trisyl, exhibiting performance similar to Bentonite in the bleaching process. TEOS-doped silica aerogels have shown promise as adsorbents for impurity removal in sunflower oil and has emerged as the potential adsorbent that can comprehensively and effectively meet the requirements of many edible oil physical refining applications in a singular step.
Graphical Abstract
Involving a succession of oil refining stages for edible oil production, a notable constraint lies in the necessity to employ diverse adsorbents at various steps within these processes. This study investigates the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels from rice husk ash, comparing their efficacy in physical sunflower oil refining with earth clay (Bentonite) and commercial silica (Trisyl). Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) impact during aging was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and N2 adsorption-desorption analyzer to examine alterations in the structure of silica aerogels. The surface areas of TEOS-doped silica aerogel (TSA) and non-TEOS-doped silica aerogel (NTSA) were 296.18 and 267.06 m²/g. Mesoporous silica aerogels were evaluated for their ability to reduce free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), phosphorus, and color pigments in sunflower oil. TSA and NTSA demonstrated significant FFA removal, with TSA at 3 wt.% achieving the highest performance of 32.2%. TSA also effectively reduced PV and phosphorus compared to NTSA, Bentonite and Trisyl, exhibiting performance similar to Bentonite in the bleaching process. TEOS-doped silica aerogels have shown promise as adsorbents for impurity removal in sunflower oil and has emerged as the potential adsorbent that can comprehensively and effectively meet the requirements of many edible oil physical refining applications in a singular step.
Graphical Abstract
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