The use of liquid smoke as a substitute for nitric acid for extraction of amorphous silica from rice husk through sol-gel route

Abstract

This study assessed the potential of liquid smoke as substitute for nitric acid for production of rice husk silica using sol-gel method. The efficacy of liquid smoke was compared to that of 10% HNO3 solution in terms of the volume required and the mass of silica obtained. Further evaluation was made by comparing the characteristics of the silica as revealed by several characterization techniques include Fourier infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and particle size analysis. No significant difference between the volume of the liquid smoke and the HNO3 solution required, as well as between the mass of silica obtained. Both samples display practically similar functionality and structure. The most interesting finding is that the silica obtained using liquid smoke exhibits more homogeneous surface morphology and narrower particle size distribution. Considering its environmentally friendly nature, it was concluded that liquid smoke is more advantageous than HNO3 solution.