Making Silica Gel by Utilizing Candlenut and Palm Oil Shell Ash

Abstract

Oil palm shell ash which is the result of boiler combustion in
industry has the potential to pollute the environment and have a bad
impact in the long term so that special treatment is needed. This
study aims to answer this problem by making silica gel from
hazelnut shell and oil palm shell ash with variations in the type of
acid and the ratio of ash to determine the effect of the type of acid
and the ratio of the raw material in the form of ash to moisture
content and water absorption of silica gel. Oil palm shell ash is used
as the main ingredient because it contains the most SiO2
compounds compared to other compounds (reaching 39.78%).
Candlenut shell is also used as a raw material for silica gel because
it contains silica (12.58%). The stages in this research include the
pretreatment process of the material by washing and drying the
material, the combustion process of the main ingredient in the
furnace, the process of making sodium silicate and the synthesis
process of silica gel. Then proceed with water content analysis,
analysis of water absorption by silica gel and characterization by
Scanning Electron Microscope. The results of this study were that
the type of acid, the concentration of the acid and the time of
maturation of the gel had an influence on the moisture content of
the silica gel and the absorption capacity of the silica gel. The silica
gel produced using H2SO4 produced more mass than the silica gel
using HCl.