Influence of the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio on the specific properties of NaA zeolite

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio on the specific commercial properties of NaA zeolite subtypes as final market products (4A,4A-AG and 4A-MS) under the real production and process conditions. The value of the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio, so-called silicate module, was set as independently variable and the effect on the physical and chemical properties of each of the subtypes of NaA zeolites was examined. The paper investigates how the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio affects specific properties of NaA powders, namely the ion exchange capacity, oil adsorption capacity and water adsorption capacity. Some previous theoretical and experimental studies have shown that the molar ratio plays a crucial role in the formation of these very similar but for final application different subtypes of NaA zeolite. The experimental part of this work was performed and tested in real production conditions, which can be considered as an advantage in relevance to the obtained results. Various analytical and instrumental testing methods were used for the analysis of the obtained powders, including SEM, XRD and PSD analyses.