Fly Ash Zeolite Purification for Industrial Hydrothermal Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing artificial zeolite from fly ash are limited to laboratory scale and do not achieve high-purity zeolite suitable for industrial mass production due to the presence of impurities, which affect the X-ray diffraction lattice constant.
Innovation Solution
A method involving soaking fly ash in an alkaline aqueous solution followed by an acidic solution with pH 1.0 or less, followed by solid-liquid separation and dewatering in a centrifuge, to prepare a starting composition for hydrothermal reaction, effectively removing impurities and producing a high-purity artificial zeolite suitable for industrial scale.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If fly ash is used as raw material for artificial zeolite production, then cost is reduced and environmental benefit is improved, but purity of the zeolite deteriorates due to impurities in fly ash
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing acid treatment on fly ash before the main hydrothermal synthesis process. The fly ash is treated with sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid to remove impurities such as iron, calcium, and magnesium oxides, and carbon compounds before converting to zeolite. This pre-treatment ensures high purity of the final zeolite product while maintaining the cost and environmental benefits of using fly ash as raw material.
2Productivity
If conventional hydrothermal reaction method is used, then process simplicity is maintained, but productivity remains limited to laboratory scale
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the zeolite production process into distinct stages: (1) acid treatment of fly ash to remove impurities, (2) washing and drying of treated fly ash, and (3) hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently and enables scalable implementation from laboratory to industrial production while maintaining process clarity and control.
3Manufacturing precision
If acid treatment is applied to remove impurities, then purity is improved, but process complexity and treatment time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the acid treatment parameters to achieve effective impurity removal within reasonable time. Specifically, it uses sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid at concentrations of 90-100 weight percent (sulfuric acid) or 10-50 volume percent (hydrochloric acid), maintains treatment temperature between 20-100°C, and controls treatment time to balance purity achievement with process efficiency. These parameter optimizations ensure high zeolite purity without excessive treatment time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method enables the industrial mass production of high-purity artificial zeolite with X-ray diffraction lattice constant equivalent to synthetic zeolite, achieving high-purity zeolites like A-type, X-type, Y-type, and hydrophobic/mordenite types.
Implementation Method 1
impurities other than necessary during artificial zeolite conversion from fly ash is removed by firstly carrying out soaking treatment of fly ash in an alkaline aqueous solution
Implementation Method 2
subsequently carrying out the soaking treatment again with a pH (1.0 or less) acidic aqueous solution obtained by adding acid
Implementation Method 3
performing solid-liquid separation while water wash and dewatering in a centrifuge
Implementation Method 4
performing hydrothermal reaction treatment to this starting composition
Data Source
AI summary
A high-purity artificial zeolite is industrially mass produced by carrying out osmosis treatment of fly ash in an alkaline aqueous solution, subsequently carrying out the osmosis treatment again with an acidic aqueous solution of pH 1.0 or less obtained by adding acid to the osmotic aqueous solution of fly ash, then performing solid-liquid separation while water wash and dewatering in a centrifuge, thereby synthesizing a starting composition, and performing hydrothermal reaction treatment to this starting composition.