Obtaining synthetic zeolite and nanocomposite from rice husk to remove mercury ions from water

The article presents the results of the development of new composite materials obtained from rice husk ash (ZRH). Composite materials are bound by 2 wt.% silver nanoparticles and characterized using methods for determining their structural characteristics, namely: X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), scanning electron microscopy with elements of semi-quantitative analysis (SEM-EDS), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption (according to the theory of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and X-ray phase analysis (XRD). According to the results of the elemental semi-quantitative analysis, the zeolite was successfully modified with silver nanoparticles, which at co-deposition amounted to 1.44%. Mineralogical phases were determined in an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and the pronounced crystal structure of synthetic zeolite of the form "analcim" and silver nanoparticles was confirmed. A structural modification of synthetic zeolite “analcime” based on ZRH was carried out in order to quickly bind zeolite with mercury. The BET results showed the formation of mesopores and micropores, while the surface area of synthetic zeolite and modified silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was 48.94 m2/g and 0.75 m2/g, respectively. Preliminary results showed that the removal of mercury ions from the solution was from 20 to 50% of the initial concentration.