Synthesis and Evaluation of Zeolite Surface-Modified Perlite

Abstract

Perlite is volcanic glass mainly composed of amorphous aluminum silicate, mainly composed SiO2 and Al2O3 with less impurities such as heavy metals. Amorphous (glassy) perlite is used in lightweight aggregate and insulation. In addition, it has also been used as a filter aid by grinding the expanded perlite. However, it has not been used as environmental cleanup materials, because the ion exchange capacity of the perlite is very low. In this study, we tried to synthesize the hybrid filter aid with chemical adsorption capacity by synthesizing the zeolite on the surface of the perlite. As a result, by using the hydrothermal synthesis method, zeolite surface modified perlite was synthesized in which the LTA type zeolites were generated on the surface of the perlite.