Advanced materials development from corncob ash for economic sustainability

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to provide a suitable scientific and economic method of reusing corncob to develop glass ceramics for useful products. Corncobs were procured from the Faculty of Agricultural Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and converted to ash. Chemical analysis to ascertain the chemical constituents of the ash was done by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) which indicated that corncob ash (CCA) has high silica content (68.70%). A sodium aluminosilicate glass batch was formulated using the corncob ash (CCA) and adding alumina and soda ash as supplementary sources of sodium oxide and alumina. The batch formulated for test-melting was 127.56 g total weight. The Petrurgic method was employed for this study. The batch was melted in ceramic molds at 1200°C and cooled to room temperature at the rates of 1, 5 and 10°C/min in a temperature-controlled furnace. The resultant glass ceramics was characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope to determine their atomic and molecular structure and their microstructural morphology, respectively.