STUDIES ON BAGASSE FLY ASH AS AN ADSORBENT FOR WASTE MATERIALS

摘要

Bagasse fly ash, the material that is carried up and through the generating bank and into the scrubbers after bagasse is burned in the boilers during cane sugar processing, is considered a waste product, with few commercial uses. Recent literature hasshown that fly ash may have the potential for use as an adsorbent trap for a variety of organic and inorganic materials, such as pesticides, dyes and heavy metals, making way for a new value added product for the sugarcane industry. In this study, the composition of fly ash from two harvest seasons in Louisiana was determined and its structure examined by microscopy. We measured its ability to absorb textile dye waste, heavy metals and quaternary amines. The fly ash removed 99.8% of textile dyes and removed from 7.5% arsenic to 99.9% chromium, mercury and lead. The composition and microscopic structure of fly ash indicates that removal of compounds is based on the process of chemisorption.