Parjaree Thavorniti

Solute segregation at grain boundaries in superplastic SiO2-doped TZP

Grain boundary structure, chemical composition, and bonding state in superplastic SiO2-doped TZP and undoped TZP were investigated by high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) using a field emission type transmission electron microscope (FE-TEM). No amorphous phase was observed at any grain boundaries in either SiO2-doped TZP or undoped TZP. Yttrium ions segregated over a width of 4–6 nm at grain boundaries in both materials, and silicon ions segregated over a width of 5–8 nm at grain boundaries in SiO2-doped TZP. The average dihedral angle between grain boundaries in SiO2-doped TZP was as high as 80°, which agreed well with the fact that no grain boundary had glass phase. The strain energy is accumulated by the dissolution of silicon ions into the tetragonal zirconia lattice. However, the grain boundary energy of SiO2-doped TZP is likely to be low enough to compensate the increase of strain energy near grain boundaries. OK-edge EELS spectra taken from grain boundaries in SiO2-doped TZP were shifted 3–4 eV to the higher energy side in comparison with those from the grain interior. This may suggest that the chemical bonding is strengthened at grain boundaries by the presence of solute silicon. The strengthening may be responsible for the enhanced superplasticity in SiO2-doped TZP.

Importance of grain boundary chemistry on the high-temperature plastic flow in oxide ceramics

High-temperature plastic flow associated with grain boundary sliding in fine grained oxides is often very sensitive to a small addition of dopant cation. The dopant effect is examined in high-purity, fine-grained Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 -containing tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (TZP). High-temperature flow stress and tensile ductility are dependent on the type of dopant. High-resolution TEM-EDS, TEM-EELS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses reveal that the dopant cations segregate in grain boundaries and that the grain boundary chemical bonding state changes by the segregation. Grain boundary sliding must be affected seriously by the dopant segregation through the change in chemical bonding state in grain boundaries.

Effect of MSW Incineration Bottom Ash in Clay Based Ceramics

The clay-based ceramic was produced by adding with the bottom ash from domestic municipal solid waste incinerator plant in Thailand. The amount of the ash up to 60 wt% was added. The samples were dry pressed and sintered at the temperature range between 1000 and 1125°C. The presence of quartz (SiO2), anorthite sodian (Ca,Na)(Si,Al)4O8, albite (Na(Si3Al)O8) and mullite (Al6Si2O13) was observed in the sample with the addition of the bottom ash. The physical and mechanical properties were also presented. The sintering temperature and the ash addition revealed the effect on the properties of the product.

Metakaolin Based Geopolymer from Thailand as an Adsorbent for Adsorption of Multi- and Mono- Cations from Aqueous Solution

Waste management and water quality are two main problems nowadays. Geopolymer material has efficiency for adsorbing the ions from wastewater. In this research, the metakaolin based geopolymer was studied and used as an adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions. Moreover, the factors which affect adsorption process of heavy metals on geopolymer materials were investigated. The kaolin as used in this research was from Thailand. The metakaolin geopolymer was synthesized by mixed raw materials with an alkaline solution. The metakaolin geopolymer was washed and sieved through 100 mesh. The produced metakaolin geopolymer powder was used as an adsorbent. The XRD results showed a highly amorphous structure in obtained metakaolin geopolymer. Moreover, the BET surface area of metakaolin and geopolymer particles were 9.83 m2/g and 20.36 m2/g, respectively. The parameters of adsorbent amount, initial pH, time of shaking, temperature and initial metal ions concentration on the removal potential of geopolymer were studied. In addition, the multi-and mono-cations solution were demonstrated to compare the efficiency of each heavy metal ions. The results showed that the amount of Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+ ions adsorbed onto metakaolin geopolymer increased with an increasing contact time, pH, temperature and amount of geopolymer. It is concluded that Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+ ions in aqueous solution are efficiently removed by metakaolin geopolymer which could be applied as a low cost and good alternative for wastewater treatment.

Removal of Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ from Wastewater using Fly Ash Based Geopolymer as an Adsorbent

This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of fly ash based geopolymer powder as an adsorbent for heavy metals in aqueous solution. The structure of synthesized geopolymer was found to be highly amorphous due to the dissolution of fly ash phase. Moreover, the fly ash geopolymer powder has higher surface area compares to original fly ash with specific surface area of 85.01 m²/g and 0.83 m2/g, respectively. For this reason, the geopolymer powder has much higher removal efficiency compared to the original fly ash powder. The removal efficiency was affected by contact time, geopolymer amount, heavy metal initial concentration, pH, and temperature. The four heavy metals were chosen (Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+) for adsorption test. The highest heavy metal removal capacity was obtained at pH 5. The geopolymer powder adsorbed metal cations in the order of Pb2+>Cu2+>Cd2+>Ni2+. In addition, Langmuir model is more suitable for fly ash geopolymer powder adsorption of heavy metal ions in aqueous solution than Freundlich model. The results showed that the fly ash geopolymer powder has high efficiency for removal metal which could be employed excellent alternative for wastewater treatment.

Synthesis of Zeolite from Water Treatment Sludge and its Application to the Removal of Brilliant Green

In this work, water treatment sludge from the water treatment plant was used to synthesize zeolite material. In the synthesis, the washed sludge was mixed with sodium hydroxide and then heated at 600ºC for 6 h. After agitation, the aged material was heated in a water bath at 80ºC for different period of aging times. Based on XRD and SEM analyses, Faujasite zeolite was obtained. Then, the feasibility of employing the obtained zeolite as adsorbent for Brilliant Green (BG) removal was investigated. The effect of adsorbent dosage and contact time were examined. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm were also evaluated. The results showed that the obtained zeolite has potential for applying as low-cost adsorbent for the removal of BG from wastewater with higher than 97% adsorption efficiency.

The Adsorption of Cadmium Ions on Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Particles

Geopolymer particles from waste coal fly ash were prepared in order to investigate adsorption process of Cadmium ions. The aim of the study is to focus on factors which affect adsorption process of heavy metals on geopolymer materials. The raw fly ash was mixed with sodium hydroxide solution and sodium silicate solution. After that geopolymer was cured at 80 °C for 24 hr. The sample was ground and washed until pH=7. The obtained geopolymer particles were dried at 60 oC. The raw materials and geopolymer were characterized. The XRD results showed a highly amorphous structure in obtained geopolymer. The major components of waste coal fly ash and synthesized geopolymer were SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 and CaO. The BET surface area of fly ash and geopolymer particles were 0.83 m2/g and 85.01 m2/g, respectively. The adsorption conditions (initial concentration from 10-120 mg/L, temperature at 25-45 °C, pH of cadmium ions solution from 1-5, 0.02-0.14 g. of geopolymer and contact time for 5-180 min) were studied. From removal efficiency results, synthesized geopolymer had high removal capacity for cadmium ions (Cd2+). At pH 5 of solution, the highest Cd2+ removal capacity was obtained. In addition, the removal efficiency increases with an increasing geopolymer dosage, contact time and a decreasing of Cd2+ initial concentration. Moreover, both Langmuir and Freundlich models were investigated for studying adsorption isotherm. The result showed Langmuir model is more suitable for geopolymer adsorption of cadmium ion in aqueous solution than Freundlich model.

Preparation and Characterization of Fly Ash and Aluminium Waste Geopolymer

Geopolymeris an alumino-silicate material with three dimensional amorphous structures. The main compositions are silica and alumina which were decomposed by alkaline solution. Geopolymer materials not only have comparable or superior properties to portland cement, but also have lower greenhouse emission. In this study, Preparation and characterization of geopolymer were investigated. The main composition of fly ash from Mae Moh power plant is SiO2 and Al2O3. The major composition of Aluminium waste from aluminium frame industry is Al2O3.The geopolymer pastes were mixed at various proportions of FA:Al-waste of 100:0 80:20 60:40 and 40:60 by weight. Sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used as alkali activators.A mass ratio of 2.5 Na2SiO3/NaOH and three concentrations of NaOH (5 10 15 M) were used. Geopolymer were cured at ambient temperature for 7days. Properties of geopolymer specimens were measured for example compressive strength, bending strength, phase by XRD, and bonding by FT-IR.

Barium-Free Glass-Ceramic Sealants from the System CaO-MgO-B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 for Application in the SOFC

The planar solid oxide fuel cell (p-SOFC) is a promising configuration of a high-T fuel cell. Barium alumosilicate glass ceramics are suggested to use as sealants by many authors since these materials seem to meet the requirements to establish a hermetic and electrically insulating seal between the steel components of the SOFC. However, in long-term application, the formation of BaCrO4 may degrade the interfacial strength between glass-ceramics and metallic interconnect and disrupt the cell components. In this work, a series of barium-free glass-ceramics in the system of CaO-MgO-B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 were prepared. The selected compositions were located within the constitutional range of åkermanite – forsterite –anorthite. The thermal properties including glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystallization temperature (Tc) of the produced glasses were measured. The effect of boron oxide additions was studied in order to optimize the softening and flow behavior. For the experiments, a hot – stage microscope was used. Some glass compositions were mixed with high – CTE akermanite powder in order to increase their CTE after sintering. The CTE of the investigated materials after sintering at 900 °C, 2 h, ranged from 10.5 to 11.8 10−6 K−1.

Preparation of Silicon Nitride-Silicon Carbide Composites from Abrasive SiC Powders

Silicon nitride - silicon carbide composite was developed by using an abrasive SiC powders as a raw material. The composites were prepared by mixing abrasive SiC powder with silicon, pressing and sintering at 1400°C under nitrogen atmosphere in atmosphere controlled vacuum furnace. The proportion of silicon in the initial mixtures varied from 20 to 50 wt%. After sintering, crystalline phases and microstructure were characterized. All composites consisted of α- Si3N4 and β-Si3N4 as the bonding phases in SiC matrix. Their physical and mechanical properties were also determined. It was found that the density of the obtained composites increased with an increase in the Si3N4 content formed in the reaction.