SYNTHESIS OF ZEOLITES FROM PERLITE AND DIATOMITE AS ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF SILICON AND ALUMINUM
perlite, diatomite, zeolites, rhodamine B
Natural materials based on silicon and aluminum such as perlite and diatomite were studied and pretreated to be used in zeolite synthesis. Initially the properties of natural materials were studied: expanded perlite and three diatomites from different origins. With perlite, the zeolitic topologies OFF, GIS and ERI were obtained as mixture of phases and the topology LTA as pure phase. The phase mixtures were used in adsorptive processes using the dye Rhodamine B, resulting in better adsorbents than the expanded perlite, obtaining a high efficiency. The pure phase LTA zeolite was also obtained by employing the various diatomites, demonstrating the possibility of using different alternative sources of Si and Al in obtaining them.