The authors were based on two types of the feedstock: industrial waste after burning coal (the fraction of dispersed microspheres of fly-ash) and grinded perlite – natural feedstock of volcanic origin. Agglomerating these two components under 1,000 degrees Celsius allowed for receiving porous silicon composites: ash microspheres between the perlite particles form the structural framework and provide for the porous structure, while as the perlite fused during thermal processing provides for the structural strength.
To define the filterability of the new composites the researchers used aqueous slurry of dispersed microspheres of fly-ash with the average diameter of 2.5 microns. During the filtration process solid particles were successfully removed, and water was almost 100% purified and transparent. Because the solid particles settled not inside the membrane, but on its surface, the filters could be used repeatedly after cleaning.
“The results of our studies can be used for creating resource-saving technology of processing large-tonnage waste of thermal energy, purifying liquid and gaseous media in various industries”, – the Krasnoyarsk Research Center is citing Vyacheslav Pavlov, Doctor of chemical sciences.